Of Fire and Ice
by MobileTracker
Summary: Dai Zhang laid waste to the Jade Palace, Furious Five and Dragon Warrior. Ten years later, Xian Huo and Kim Shui begin a dangerous quest to recruit fighters to take down Zhang. But neither of them expected what they found and what would happen.
1. Prologue

The silver wolf pulled his jacket tighter around him as he approached Artisan Village. Shivering heavily as the bitter cold pushed it's way thought his jacket and his thick fur, chilling him to his very core. He grit his teeth as he pushed forward, the village growing closer with each step. Growling quietly to himself and wondering why it was him that had trekked all the way out to this village and not his sister. He was a master of the fire element, better suited for the heat of the summer or a warm fireplace. She mastered the element of water. She would've been right at home in this frozen landscape.

He shook his head slightly to realign his thoughts. He had a purpose to be out here and it was an important one. He had a duty to fulfill, a quest to save China from the evils that were attempting to destroy it. Though it had been close to ten years since anyone had actually admitted to personally seeing his target, that never stopped them from chasing the rumors of a sighting. While he was searching Artisan Village for one person, his sister was off in the Easter Providence looking for another.

He stopped walking and glanced up, realizing that while lost in his thoughts he had entered the village and had managed to find himself standing right in front of the Inn. He pushed the door open and walked inside, turning around and bracing his shoulder against the door to close it fully as the wind fought back. Successfully closing the door, he turned and walked to the desk, loosing his jacket and pulling some money from his pockets. "I'd like a room please. I don't really know how long I'll be in town though." He stated, looking up at the pig behind the counter.

"You don't need to worry about paying now." The Inn Keeper told him, pulling a room key off the shelf behind him and a guest book from under the counter. "Just sign in on the book. We'll worry about how much to pay when you check out. Stay as long as you like, you're room is up the stairs, fourth door on the left. Number seventeen. Unfortunately the wind has made it hard to keep our fires burning, so you'll have to find a way to heat up your own water. We'll charge you less because of it."

"You need not worry about that, my good man." The wolf replied, signing his name in the book and accepting the key with a grin and a nod. "I'm sure I'll figure something out. Thank you." He said, making his way up the stairs and into his room.

Once inside he set his pack down, removing his jacket and hanging it up on the hook that was hanging from the wall. The room wasn't large, but it served it's purpose. The wolf knelt down in front of the fireplace, grabbing some of the wood that had been left inside and stacking it up. He snapped his fingers before hold his index and middle finger out, drawing a circle in the air before thrusting his palm forward. A moment later the log placed in the center of the stack caught fire.

The wolf grinned to himself as the room started to warm up. He stands, heading into the bathroom, brushing the snow from the rest of his fur before looking at himself in the mirror. His bright golden eyes peering back at himself as he takes in his image. Taking his finger and drawing it along the scar on his muzzle, a product of a skirmish with the Lion Guard of Dai Zhang.

Dai Zhang was the newest threat to the people of China. He was a canine, but unlike any anyone had ever seen. Rumors had it he had arrived on a boat from the west ten years ago, though no one could say exactly from where. The facts and truths about him were a mystery. All they had to go on were the rumors spread around. But alas, he was a large canine of brown and black fur. He was fierce and commanded a legion of many different species, though his most feared was his Lion Guard. Six Lions that were his highest ranking officers and personal body guards. The last time they fought, they left him with a scar. They would've killed him if he hadn't escaped. It was a miracle he did.

After that him and his sister had decided to search for people to help fight. Ten years ago, such a job would've been left to the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior. But they hadn't been seen nor heard from in such a long time, and ever since it had been said that they had been hunted down and killed one by one by Dai Zhang after he had failed to kill them when he raided the Jade Palace. It was a day no one talked about. In his raid on the palace many died, many suffered.

Dai Zhang had grown tired of trying to fight back the many guards the palace housed, and instead set the structure ablaze. It was on that day that both Master Shifu and Dragon Warrior Po had been lost to the ashes of the Jade Palace. The Furious Five had managed to escape, but no one ever heard from them again. Shortly after, the rumors began.

Come to think of it, he was only a few miles from the Jade Mountain. Maybe once he was done here he would stop by and pay respect before moving on to the next village. He sighed as he took some water from the bowl and splashed it over his face. Stepping back into the warm room he began to unpack his things out onto the table, laying himself out on the bed when that was done.

After a few moments his stomach growled angrily at him. He sat back up, grabbing his coat from the hook as he walked out and headed downstairs. The pig behind the counter looked up from his parchment as the wolf came down the stairs. "Excuse me, sir. I was hoping you could tell me how to get to the closest restaurant?"

"There is a noodle shop a little ways down from here, take a left when you go out the door and keep walking. You can't miss it."

The wolf nodded his thanks, heading back out into the bitterly cold winter weather to find some hot food to eat. He trudged through the snow filled streets for what seemed like ages, the bitter wind once against stealing his body heat as he went. After a while he found the noodle shop. Even in the blizzard induced low visibility, the shop still appeared brightly lit.

A small bell gave away his entry as he pushed the door in to enter the shop. The wolf surveyed the shop and it's various customer's before he was approached by a rabbit who eagerly shook his hand. "Welcome to Noodle Masters, Mr...?"

"Huo." The wolf provided, smiling down at the rabbit. "Xian Huo. I've been told you have the best noodles in town?"

"Oh you've been told correct, sir! Please, have a seat at the counter! Ms. Lian will be with your shortly to take your order." The excitable rabbit spoke quickly, dragging Xian by his hand over to the counter-side seats. He was handed a parchment paper that listed the shop's different noodles and how much each selection was.

He glanced up from the menu when he realized someone was standing beside him. She was a feline, a tiger at that. Though her fur had a faded and aged look, and when he glanced up at her face, her orange eyes seemed to be missing that feral spark that all tigers had. "So what'll it be?" She asked him. And while she tried to sound welcoming, it was obvious that the life had left her long ago.

"I'm having a hard time choosing. What would you recommend?" Xian asks, setting the menu down and looking back up to her. She took the menu from him, tucking it under her arm before giving him a nod. "I'll surprise you." She states, heading for the kitchen.

Xian watched as she left, noticing a stride in her step that he couldn't quite place. Maybe it was in his head? Felines were always smooth in their movements, but something about her... he just couldn't wrap his head around it.

He accepted his tea from her when she returned, taking it gratefully in both hands and sipping it cautiously to test the temperature. He watched the way she carried the bowls around, how she somehow managed to avoid a customer who had sudden stood up behind her. It just all seemed so odd to him.

She returned to him a few minutes later with his noodles and Xian decided to test a theory. When she turned to leave he 'accidentally' let his empty cup fall from the counter and almost like it was second nature she bounced it off her foot and caught it in her right hand. "I'll refill that for you." She offered, wandering back into the kitchen.

Xian grinned to himself as he ate. This girl knew Kung Fu. And by the looks of it, she was proficient in it as well. She would be perfect to help them fight Dai Zhang. Xian took his time finishing his meal, watching as the late night slowly drew more people from the shop out to their homes.

By now the shop was empty of everyone but her and him. The kitchen staff were cleaning up and getting ready to go home, and she was busy wiping down tables with a wet cloth while waiting for him to finish and leave.

"So I've been watching you." Xian began, inwardly cringing at the stalkerish feel of those words.

"I'll be sure to charge you extra then." She replied, not even bothering to look up from her work.

"That came out wrong. I've noticed the way you move. Very fluid, very aware of everything around you. Even for a feline."

"Thanks... I guess." She stated, putting the rag into a bucket and walking up to him. "Your meal is six coins. I'll forget the looker's fee, but don't make a habit of it. Understand?"

"You know Kung Fu." Xian blurted out, his keen eyes watching her as she froze for a split second before regaining her composure. "I most certainly do not."

"You do. I know you do. It's in the way you walk, your stance. Even now you're in a stance that will allow you to block me if I were to take a swing at you. It's just in your nature. You must have been practicing for a long, long time."

The tiger shook her head. "You don't know what you're talking about." She stated, walking away from him. Xian sighed, watching her leave before an idea popped into his head. He picked up his cup, throwing it at the back of her head as she walked away. He grinned when she caught it without even turning around, holding it up in her hand as she growled softly. "I think you need to leave."

"I have a job offer for you." Xian stated, walking up to her when she turned around. Her growl growing a little louder. "I said leave." She repeated, but Xian didn't listen. "Me and my sister need your help. We're recruiting fights to take on Dia Zhang. We nee-" Xian's sentence was cut short when the tiger suddenly lashed out at him. He fell onto his back to avoid her strike, raising a leg up to block the kick that came next.

Scrambling back onto his feet, Xian blocked two more punches she tried to land on his face, bringing his arms down to block her knee from hitting him in the gut. When she tried to punch him again he ducked to the left, grabbing her wrist and flipping her onto a nearby table. She landed hard but it didn't stop her. She turned onto her stomach, grabbing the table and using it to swing her feet out, kicking him in the chest.

Xian landed on the floor with a thud, raising his hands up just in time to block another kick. He rolled under a nearby table to avoid her, getting back on his feet on the other side. She was panting harshly, glaring daggers into him. "Don't you dare come in here and speak that name!" She shouted, pointing a clawed finger out at him before launching herself over the table, catching Xian off guard when she landed on him, pinning him down.

The next few moments were spent blocking attack after attack as the tiger's fury made itself known in her fists. Xian had a hard time blocking each of the tiger's punches and a few broke through. He somehow managed to grab her wrist again, flipping her onto her back and pinning her down under his weight. She kicked and growled, trying to escape. "Listen to me!" He shouted, trying to get through the haze of her anger. "I'm not here to hurt you! I just want your help!" He growled loudly and she stopped struggling, her eyes that had burned with fierce anger returning to their almost hollow gaze.

Xian panted heavily as he kept her arms pinned down so that she couldn't hit him again. He studied her face for a moment, for the first time seeing a few of the small scars that dotted her skin under the fur. He looked back up into her eyes and could've sworn he saw ages of pain and sorrow looking back at him. And like a lightning bolt from God himself, it struck him.

"Tigress?"

The feline under him laughed bitterly. "No one has called me that name in years."


	2. Of Tigers and Faith

After she finished cleaning and locking up the shop, Tigress led Xian back to her house. She lit a fire in the fireplace, hanging a kettle on the hook above the flames to warm some water. Xian sat quietly nearby, not sure what to say or if he should say anything at all for the moment. She stepped into the kitchen, returning a few moments later with some cups and herbs for tea.

She sat across from him, staring him down for a moment before sighing heavily, opening her mouth to speak. "I guess you're wondering how I ended up here, right?" She asked, not bothering to wait for Xian to answer. "If you must know... Ten years ago when Dai Zhang attacked the palace, we fought fiercely against his warriors. All of us did. Master Shifu, Dragon Warrior Po, Master Viper, Master Crane, Master Monkey, and Master Mantis along with a number of the palace guards. But... Zhang had too large of a force. We were out numbered a thousand to one. And they weren't just low skilled minions either. Each of his warriors were highly skilled, highly trained, and very well equipped. We didn't stand a chance." She said, her gaze landing on the floor as she recalled the painful memories of that day.

"I had been fighting a large group of his minions in the training hall when I first realized the place was on fire. Zhang had set the Jade Palace on fire to smoke us all out so he could kill us one by one. And it would've worked too, if it wasn't for that..." her grip on her pants tightened as she closed her eyes tightly, "that... that stupid panda. The minions had kept me busy and made it damn impossible to escape until the smoke was so thick I couldn't breathe. And just as I felt the life slipping from me I heard him... Po had busted through the wall to get me out. But the fire was too bad and the hall was burning fast. He picked me up and was carrying me back to the hole when the support beam came down. It trapped his legs under it and he couldn't move. He... he threw me to safety." Tigress paused as a shiver visibly made it's way through her form. "I landed on my side and managed to open my eyes just in time to see the roof come down on him... and just like that, he was gone."

Xian sat quietly and listened to her story. He couldn't imagine watching such a thing happen to someone he cared so deeply for. She hadn't looked back up from the floor and he could tell she was doing everything possible to keep herself from breaking into tears. He wondered if he was the first to ever hear the full story. "What came after that?"

"Master Crane found me and flew me to safety with the others by the south wall. From there we used an underground channel to escape to the bottom of Jade Mountain. On the way down we were cornered by Zhang's Lion Guard. We fought back against them and was able to push our way to the bottom of the tunnel, just as one tossed a stick of gun powder at us. That was when we lost Master Shifu. We managed to evade them again and sat on the roof of Mr. Ping's noodle shop as the Jade Palace burned to the ground." She finished, looking back up to meet his gaze. "After that it was decided we'd go our separate ways. The others knew we were no match for Zhang's army, and I... well, with the loss of Po and Master Shifu... I no longer had the will to fight."

Xian nodded as the kettle above the fire started to whistle loudly. Tigress stood up, collecting the kettle and placing it on a cloth on the table with the cups. She let it sit before pouring some into each of the cups, handing one to him before sitting back with her own. "I heard stories that the others have been killed." She suddenly stated. "Rumors, of course. I mean, even heard some that said I was dead. So I don't know if they're true, but... when you said Zhang's name today... I was hoping he'd finally come for me."

"So you could take your revenge?" Xian asked, sipping from his cup as the wind jostled the door and windows from outside. "No," she answered, looking down at her reflection in the cup. "So that maybe I could finally have peace."

Xian peered and the tired tiger for a moment before setting his cup down and crossing the room. Kneeling before her to be at eye level, he spoke softly, trying to comfort her. "Tigress, do you really think that Po would want you to throw your life away like that?"

She let out a feral growl at that remark. "Don't talk like you know him. You don't know anything about him!" She stood up suddenly, throwing the hot up of tea at him and growling loudly. "Get out! Get out of my house!"

"Tigress, wait! I'm sorry, I didn't mea-"

"Out! Right now! Get out! And don't you ever come back here again!" Lashing out and pushing him backwards. Xian took a step back to avoid the strike, waiting for her to lash out again before he lurched forward with his shoulders down, catching Tigress in the chest and knocking her over. For the second time that day he pinned her down as she tried to claw him. "I said leave!" She shouted, growling at him and bearing her fangs. Xian didn't budge and after a few moments of struggling she gave in. The growling died into a dull rumble and the fighting changed into a shake as she began to sob. "Why couldn't you just be here to kill me? I'm tired of the pain..." She whimpered. Xian had to remind himself that the person he had pinned under him was one of the fiercest women in the world, and one of the top Kung Fu fighters of all history.

"Tigress, listen to me." He pleaded, getting off her and helping her back into her chair. "I plan to kill him. I plan to kill Dai Zhang and avenge the evils he has done to China. Me and my sister are. But we can't do it alone. We need skilled fighters to help us."

"You plan to kill Zhang?" She echoed, her eyes wide for a moment before she looked back to the floor. "You can't be serious. He'll kill you. He'll kill all of you!"

"We have a plan." Xian interrupted. "What is the only force in all of China that is unstoppable?"

"Well... that would be nature I suppose. It does what it wants. But you can't possibly think you're going to kill Zhang with nature." She scoffed. "What are you going to do? Tree him to death? You can't control nature, Xian." She said, shaking her head.

"No, you're right. I can't control nature itself. But what if you could control part of nature? What if you had the ability to control the elements?"

Tigress scoffed for the second time. "You're insane. No one can control the elements. I think you need to just accept the fact that China will eventually fall completely on Zhang's rule. And a word of advice, if you haven't already? Don't anger him. If you have? Go into hiding and keep your head low, or he'll have you killed." She said, picking her cup up off the ground and cleaning it with the cloth on the table before pouring herself another cup. "Control the elements." She chuckled lightly under her breath. "What's next Xian?" She asked him. "Going to tell me you have the ability to control fire?" She laughed, looking him in the eye.

Xian didn't reply to her, instead he met her gaze with a light grin. Her laughter died down after a moment when his grin didn't fade. She set her cup down, sitting forward on her seat. "You're serious, aren't you?" She asked, eying him carefully. "You can't be..." She reasoned with herself before curiosity got the better of her. "Show me." She finally stated, crossing her arms over her chest and sitting back in his chair in complete disbelief.

Xian chuckled and nodded, concentrating for a moment as he held his right hand out in front of him, palm facing upwards. In a matter of seconds a small ball of fire appeared, floating an inch or so above his hand. "I can do just about anything with fire." Xian stated as Tigress stood up and approached him in awe. "I can throw fire, direct fire, set things on fire. The downside is the more intense the flame the quicker it tires me out. This," he said, nodding towards the swirling ball of fire in his palm, "is a low level use of my abilities. I could do this all day without even yawning."

Tigress was standing in front of him now, watching the swirling ball of fire in the wolf's hand. She reached out and could feel the heat coming off it. It was real! It wasn't an illusion, she could feel the heat radiating off it, could hear the flames crackling with energy. The wolf clapped his hands together and the ball disappeared into thin air. The South China tiger looked back up into the wolf's eyes, a slight grin forming on her face. "Okay... that was cool. But you're going to need more than fancy fireballs to kill Zhang."

"My sister has the ability to control water in the same way I control fire. We've been honing out abilities for years and can do a great deal of damage with them. But us alone can't pull this off, we need the help of warriors like yourself."

Tigress shook her head, returning to her seat and rubbing her hands. "I already told you I won't take part in this. Zhang easily killed Po and Shifu. He nearly killed the rest of us and if the rumors are true then I'm the only one left. I barely got away with my life last time, and with odds like this? I'm sorry, but I won't take that risk again."

Xian nodded quietly as he picked up his things and bowed to the former Master. "Then I apologize for taking your time." He stated quietly before heading towards the door, turning to look at her over his shoulder. "You said you were hoping I worked for Zhang and that he had sent me to bring you peace. I ask you to please ponder this, Master Tigress. What does it matter if peace comes in the form of a one sided attack, or an honorable battle alongside your allies?" Xian asked, nodding as he opened the door to head back into the cold. "I hope wherever your peace lies, Master Tigress, that you find it." He said, closing the door behind him and heading back into the bitter cold, heading back to his room at the Inn to gather his thoughts and form a new plan.

A few hours later, Xian woke suddenly as someone knocked on his door. Rubbing his eyes as he sat up, groaning as he stood. It had to be way too early for anyone to be awake, the sun wasn't even peaking over the horizon yet. He cracked the door slightly to see that it was Master Tigress who stood outside his room, offering a sheepish grin for waking him so early in the morning. "What you said... I couldn't sleep thinking about it." She offered, rubbing her arm slightly.

"Please, come in." Xian offered, stepping back and opening the door wider for her to enter the room. He closed it behind her once she was inside, sitting on his bed and shaking his head, clearing the fog of sleepiness from his head.

"I have decided I want to fight. Zhang took everything from me. My home, my friends, my... my family. You were right, I wouldn't be at peace if I simply just laid down and waited for him to find me. If he is going to kill me, I would rather it be in a fight than a noodle shop." She finished, smiling softly as she gazed out the window. The wind had died down and the snow had stopped falling. You could clearly see the night sky and the stars above. "I have but one request." She said, glancing over her shoulder at Xian. "We must stop by the Jade Palace. I haven't been there in ten years, I need... closure."

Xian nodded quietly, watching as she turned around and leaned against the wall, folding her arms back over her chest. "So when do we leave?" She asked. Xian looked past her and out the window as the sun had just started to rise. "Right now."


	3. Of Past and Present

Xian stood behind Tigress as they approached the entry gate to the Jade Palace. The wood that had once been a vibrant red was now faded and charred from the fires that had scorched it ten years past. He watched as she carefully stepped up to it, running her hands over the wood before taking a deep breath and pushing the gate open.

Stepping inside they surveyed the damage that Zhang's army had done. The once immaculate palace grounds were now overgrown by grass and covered in debris from the fires. It was obvious that no one had stepped foot on the grounds since the night of the attack. The buildings were in complete dismay and looked ready to crumble if so much as a leaf were to land on them. The pungent smell of dried blood assaulted their senses and the armor clad bones of fallen guards and warriors were strewn about the palace.

Tigress stepped forward with Xian in tow, walking up to where the training hall had once stood. He could see her hands shaking as the memories flooded back into her mind. Without warning, she leaped forward onto the rubble, climbing down into the ruins of the training hall. "Tigress!" Xian yelled after her, running up to the collapsed wall of the hall. "Tigress!" He called again, listening as the feline dug furiously into the rubble. "Tigress, get out of there before that building comes down!" He growled out as she didn't reply to him.

He paced around as he waiting and listened for any sign of her. A few minutes later she launched herself from inside the building, landing in front of him; cradling something in her hands. Xian watched her as she stood back up, her eyes never leaving the cloth in her hands. "What did you find?" He asked, stepping forward to see what she had. In her hands was a tattered piece of cloth. "What is that?"

"It was his." She answered quietly, her thumb brushing over the design. "I had given it to him just a week before. He was wearing it that night... Though something is wrong..." She stated, looking over her shoulder back to the old hall. "What do you mean?" Xian asked, tilting his head to the side as he watched her with keen eyes. She didn't answer him and after a moment she shook her head, walking off. Xian glanced up at the old training hall before following in her wake.

She led him to the student barracks next. This building had fared better against the fires, but over time it had become worn down as well. Tigress tried to push the door open, but with no luck. She took a step back and raised her foot up, kicking the door as hard as she could. It flew off the hinge, allowing them to enter.

Xian followed close behind as they stepped inside. The hallway was littered with debris from the roof that had given way due to lack of maintenance. Xian had to watch his step as he wandered through the hallway. Each of the doors were open and Xian could see inside each of the rooms.

When he looked up, Tigress was standing outside her own room. He watched as she quietly slid the door open and entered the room. He made it to the doorway as she knelt down by her bed, pulling a wooden box from under it. She gingerly opened it before pulling a small figurine from it.

Xian could see what it was from here. It was a hand crafted figurine of Po. He watched as she cradled it for a moment before placing it on her bed, pulling a small red bag from the box next. She opened it and began to place various weapons she was pulling from the box inside of it. She placed the bag on the bed before standing up and walking over to her closet, pulling her trademark red vest from it before she looked over her shoulder at Xian expectantly. Xian blushed as he realized what she wanted, nodding and stepping out of the room, sliding the door shut behind him. A couple of minutes later the door slid open again and Xian turned around to see Tigress standing there. Her red vest was covered in a blue and white jacket, the red bag slung over her shoulder as she stood with a hand on her hip. "Follow me." She stated, walking back down the hall and out of the barracks. Xian followed quietly as she led him outside and up a walkway. A few minutes of walking and they were standing near the Peach Tree of Heavily Wisdom. She set her bag down at the base of the tree before turning around to face him. "If we're going to be working together, we may as well learn about eachother's strengths and weaknesses. I want you to spar with me. It'll be a great way for me to shake the dust off and learn how you fight as well."

Xian nodded and dropped into his fighting stance. Tigress left her hands at her sides for a moment before launching forward to attack. Xian had just moments to raise his arm up to block her punch, turning to the side and kicking his leg out to keep her from tripping him in the process. He used his momentum to bring his other leg up to try and kick her in the chest. She caught his foot, pushing out and forcing him to do a flip to land back on his feet. He immediately ducked low to avoid a roundhouse kick, falling back onto his hands and rolling out of the way as her brought to foot crashing down on the space he had been a few mere seconds before.

Xian bounced back onto his feet, launching into a serious of high and low punches in an attempt to break her blocks. She grabbed his fist in one hand and his arm in the other, dragging him forwards as she thrust her forehead out, headbutting him so hard he flew back a few feet. He landed hard, tucking into a backwards roll before digging his claws into the ground, launching himself forward, colliding with her chest and knocking her over. He regrets this as he finds himself pinned down under her after she reversed the attack. He looks up to see her fist raised back and ready to strike. It comes crashing down and he brings his hands up to catch it, deflecting it to the side as he bring his other hand up to grab her shoulder, pulling her down on top of him.

She managed to get away though, giving him enough time to get back to his feet as she launched into her next set of attacks. Xian took several steps back as he blocked each attack, unable to get a single shot in. Another punch was headed for his face and he managed to grab it, swinging her around and behind him as he lashed his foot out, taking her feet out from under her. Tigress landed on her hands, swinging her feet out and kicking his own out from under him. Xian landed with a thud before realizing she was on top of him again, pinning his arm behind his back. She had won.

"Not bad." She said, letting go of him and standing up. Xian could hear the grin in her voice as he rolled onto his back. He grabbed her hand when she offered it to him, helping him get off the ground. "Not bad at all." She said again with a nod.

"That was you shaking the dust off?" Xian laughed, brushing the snow and dirt from his clothes. "I barely had a chance to get a shot in!"

"Still," she replied, picking her bag up off the ground. "you fought smartly. Though you did hold back on me." Xian raised an eyebrow. "I didn't hold back. I fought with everything I had." At that Tigress let out a chuckle, shaking her head. "We both know you could have easily ended that fight with a fireball."

Xian nodded sheepishly. "Wouldn't want to light you on fire. I tend to try and avoid that with my allies." He jokes, following behind her as she leads him back down the hill towards the palace. Neither of them noticed the avian circling above them high in the sky. "Tigress... is alive?"


	4. Of Fathers and Sons

The fire crackled with life and warmth as Tigress and Xian sat around it. She hadn't said much since their practice fight out by the Sacred Tree. Xian found himself once again eying the tiger across from him, watching the flames reflect in her eyes. She glanced up and their eyes met for a moment. Xian offered her an uneasy smile, the silence making him nervous.

"So, what next?" She asked after a moment, stoking the fire before looking back up at him. "Well," Xian started, tilting his head to the side as he thought. "We still have another week before we need to meet up with my sister. I heard about another fighter worth checking out a few towns over. The plan was to travel there after I checked out Musician's Village. Though, admittedly, I never imagined I'd find you there."

"So what did bring you to the village?" She asked, still poking the fire with the stick.

"We travel based on rumor. Me and my sister will meet at our home once a month and talk about the rumors of strong fighters that travel around. Last time around, she said that she had heard whispers of a good fighter protecting the village and... here I am."

"You travel based on rumors? It seems very inefficient." She commented, standing up and kneeling by the fire and checking on the pot placed close to it.

"Unfortunately, when your plan is to take down the tyrant that is mid-process of asserting his role as the great ruler of your country; you can't exactly hold open tryouts." He answered. She nodded as she listened to his response, stirring the noodles in the pot before her. Xian watched as one of her ears twitched as she glanced up at him. They locked eyes for a moment as he nodded slightly. He could hear it too.

Something was incoming from high above, and fast. Whatever it was they didn't think it was friendly. Xian waited a few seconds before rolling off his seat and landing to the side and aiming his hands up into the air, creating a huge fireball that he threw high into the sky. Him and Tigress watched as the ball of fire lit the sky up, forcing whatever was approaching to swerve to avoid getting roasted. Now being able to see their attacker, Xian fired several more bursts into the air, aiming to knock the avian out of the sky.

The incoming bird dodged each shot with precision, pulling it's wings in closer as it fell faster, aiming for Xian. Xian waited for the last possible moment, and when the bird suddenly flared it's wings and shot its legs forward to strike, Xian rolled to the side; firing off several more fire blasts. The attacker cried out in pain as one of the shots singed the feathers on his wing. Tigress suddenly attacked from behind, tackling their attacker to the ground and pinning him under her, her claws raised back to strike.

"Tigress! Wait!" The attacker yelled causing Tigress to pause in her strike. Xian watched as she held her claws back, taking in the face of the person who had attacked them. "...Crane?" She asked quietly. "You're really alive?" Crane nodded as much as he could with her pinning him down. She let him up and he flexed his wings, cringing as pain shot through his body. "Why did you attack us?"

"Because of him!" Crane stated, pointing towards Xian. "Tigress, why are you traveling with him? Don't you recognize him? Don't you remember?" Crane asked her, never taking his eyes off Xian. "Tigress, he's the one who lit the palace on fire that night!"

Before Xian could even protest, Tigress was upon him, pinning him down under her with her claws digging into his throat. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Xian managed to wheeze out as Tigress tried to strangle him. "Tell me," she growled, clenching her claws tighter. "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now."

"Because it wasn't me!" Xian gasped out when she let up on his throat. "I didn't light the fire at the Palace. I was only ten at the time!"

"Liar!" Crane shouted, standing over the two. "I saw you do it myself. You were throwing the fire around just like you did tonight. I watched you set the Palace ablaze!"

"That wasn't me!" Xian protested again, his vision starting to black out as Tigress applied pressure again. "Don't lie to me." Crane warned. "I saw you. The white wolf with the ability to throw fire from the palms of his hands."

Tigress let out a near feral growl and pushed Xian harder into the snow, resisting the urge to snap his neck before the wolf could even respond. "It wasn't me!" He protested again. "It was my father!"

The silence that came after that was deafening. Both Tigress and Crane went wide eyed and Tigress let up as her claws, allowing Xian to breathe again. "Your... father?" She echoed. Xian nodded quietly as he crawled out from under her, rubbing his throat. "My father was the one who taught me to control the element of fire. He was here with Zhang's army that night, he burnt this place to the ground. I am ashamed of what my father has done. I'm not like him and I refuse to serve under that tyrant Zhang like my father so willingly does." Xian stated before looking down at his hands. "My father was once an honorable man. But greed overtook him. Zhang offered him gold as payment for scorched earth. So now my father works for him, burning the ground wherever he walks..."

Crane stepped forward, eying the wolf for a moment before bowing. "I am sorry."

Xian nodded but didn't answer, he was still studying his hands. "These hands... they could easily be tools of destruction. I could have easily followed in my father's footsteps. I'd have all the money I could ever want. I would never go needing, I wouldn't travel and spend my nights on the road. I could use these hands to become something great." Xian mused quietly, looking up at a half collapsed wall before him, blasting it with a large fire ball. "I could use these hands to shape China just in the way my father does." Xian continued, blasting it again. "But I refuse to." He finished, looking back up at the two warriors across from him. "I will not be like my father. I won't kill the innocents for money. I won't take from them what they worked hard to gain. My father is dead to me... and if I have my way, he will be dead to the world by the time this is done."

Both Crane and Tigress nodded as the watched the wolf before them. Xian clenched his hand into a fist before he shook himself to loosen his muscles, rolling his shoulders as he loosened himself up. He took his seat by the fire, starring into the flames. Tigress took the seat to his immediate right while Crane stood to his left. The tiger couldn't help but study his features in the low light of the fire. A twinge of guilt shooting through her when she saw a small trickle of blood making it's way down Xian's neck. She pulled a cloth from the inner pocket of her vest, pressing it to where the blood was appearing.

Xian didn't acknowledge her at first, but after a moment he placed his hand over hers on his neck, taking a deep breath. "So now you understand why I travel to gather fighters. My father is the cause of many people's pain and suffering. It is my responsibility... my duty to put an end to him. With him out of the way Zhang will fall."

"We should get some rest." He said a moment later. "Tomorrow we'll set out for the next town and try to recruit out next fighter. Master Crane, you are welcome to join us if you please." Xian stated before wandering off towards the old student barracks for the night.

Crane and Tigress were left by the fireplace alone. The silence between them lasted a long time before Tigress finally spoke. "I'm glad you're alive, Crane. I heard rumors you had been killed."

"I had heard the same about you, Tigress." There was a pause before he spoke again. "I wonder if any of the others made it out and survived like we did." Tigress shook her head. "Anything is possible I guess... Though the team will never be the same without Shifu and Po."

"You don't think they could have made it out alive? I mean... we managed to survive. Who's to say they didn't pull it off?"

Tigress didn't respond to his inquiry at first. "I watched the training hall come down on Po. There's just no way he could have survived it. And we all saw the tunnel come down on Shifu." She said quietly, drawing her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them. "It's just us five that made it out alive. And while I'd like to think all five of us are still alive... it's been ten years. I have my doubts."

"I don't know, Tigress. I'd like to keep the hope alive that we'll see them all again someday."

Tigress didn't answer him, instead she stood up and headed for the barracks as well, leaving Crane to his thoughts by the fire. He wanted so hard to believe that the others were still alive, including Po and Shifu. He knew the odds were against that being true but... was it that wrong to hold out hope?

Though it was obvious to him that Po and Shifu's death weighed heavily on Tigress' soul. In the same night she lost not only her father, but the only person she ever really fell in love with. Crane couldn't imagine what that would feel like. Sure, he had lost a master and he hadn't seen Viper since that night... but it wasn't the same.

He could tell that a part of Tigress had died that night. Her eyes didn't have that burning fire in them anymore. The fur that used to shine a bright orange had grown dim and faded. It was obvious to him that she wasn't herself and he silently wondered if she still had enough fight in her for the battle that would be ahead of them.

Tomorrow they would set off for the next town and see about tracking down and recruiting more fighters. Crane flexed his singed wing, cringing as the pain shot through his side. It was going to hurt to fly tomorrow, but it would heal soon enough.

Crane flapped his good wing, blowing out the remaining flames on the fire before he too headed off to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.


	5. Of Sisters and Luck

"How much further to the next village?" Kim rolled her eyes as she heard the question asked for what had to be the tenth time since they left the Eastern Providences to start their trek to meet back with her brother. She had two more stops to make before she would meet back with him at their home.

"Mantis, for the final time. We'll get there when we get there." The she-wolf sighed, rolling her sea blue eyes as she flicked the bug perched on her head. Her tour of the providence had proven to be interesting. The rumors had been true, there had been a fighter in the area that had been fending off a village from attacks while training the village's men in fighting techniques to protect it themselves. What she hadn't expected? Was that fighter to be Master Mantis.

Surprise.

The rumors she had heard about the furious five being dead had been false. Or at least, as far as Mantis had been concerned. Though her heart had sank a little while she realized he was alone. The other five weren't with him and he wasn't sure if they were even still alive.

"I'm just saying. It's been days since we last saw anything even remotely resembling civilization. I think you're lost and you just don't want to admit it."

"I'll have you know I'm an expert tracker and navigator. I could trek my way across all of China using nothing more than my nose." The wolf replied, rolling her eyes again as she continued on, ignoring any more of the bug's remarks. "Now if you insist on asking me the same question over and over, I'm going to make it so every time you talk water will shoot from your mouth."

Silence followed. Mission accomplished.

"So you never did full explain to me just what you're recruiting me for." Mantis began, peering over her bangs and down into her eyes. "I mean, you said it had something to do with taking on Zhang, but you didn't really give me a battle plan. And there's no way it'll just be me and you. He'd kill us."

"It won't just be me and you. Like I told you before, Mantis, me and my brother are gathering warriors and fighters to help us take on Zhang. If we get enough skilled warriors we can pull it off. Finding you was a fluke, I didn't plan on finding one of the Furious Five when I set out on my search. Just good luck I guess. My brother is searching the west for fighters. I really do hope he's having as much luck as I am."

They traveled in silence for a while before he spoke again. "Sometimes I wonder if that night ten years ago would have went differently if Zhang hadn't set the palace on fire. We were all out numbered, but I wonder if we could've just held out a little longer if we could have ended everything right then and there."

"Why didn't you guys ever strike back?"

"The honest truth? We wouldn't have stood a chance... we lost Master Shifu and Dragon Warrior Po when Zhang attacked. After that Tigress wasn't herself. She didn't want to fight, she didn't really talk to any of us, didn't even eat. Without her the rest of us just kind of fell apart and went out separate ways."

"And what's changed between now and then? You seem willing to fight Zhang now. I mean, you did agree to come along with me."

"Zhang took everything I ever had away from me. My friends, my Master, my home. I could never face him on my own, it wouldn't even be a fight. But since you guys are crazy enough to get mixed up with him I figure I may as well help."

"That is very noble of you, Master Mantis." Kim grinned as she saw the gates of Gongmen City appeared in the distance. "We're finally here." She said, breaking into a run to get to the city gates before dark fell.

She managed to get into the city before they closed the checkpoint for the night. Wondering though the still crowded streets she looked for anywhere that looked like an Inn. "I haven't been here in ages." Mantis commented from her shoulder. "It's nice to see how they rebuilt the place after it was torn apart by Lord Shen."

"It really is a beautiful city." Kim commented, eying all the lanterns strung up around the city. "We'll be here for a day or so. This is where my next fighter is rumored to be hiding out. It's been said that he fended off a wolf pack all by himself. Fifteen to one. I hope he's still around."

It didn't take much longer for her to track down an Inn. Stepping inside she walked up to the desk and looked around. No one appeared to be behind the counter. "Hello?" Kim called out but received no answer in reply.

She glanced to Mantis on her shoulder before venturing behind the counter, looking around for anyone who might work there. She ventured into the back room behind the counter, looking over the empty bed and clothes on the floor. "No one's home." She stated, glancing at the shelf filled with books and wood carvings. Six of them at the end of the shelf caught her attention. The Furious Five and Po.

"Well look at that." Mantis let out a slight chuckle. "I feel like I'm back in Po's room." He commented, almost instantly feeling a ping of regret forming inside him. Kim exited the room with him on her shoulder, leaning against the counter. "I wonder where the inn keeper is?"

They waited several more minutes before hearing the front door open and close again. Kim looked up to see a golden langur coming in from outside. Kim couldn't believe her luck, glancing at Mantis again who also appeared to be in shock. The monkey hadn't yet looked up from the floor as he made his way across the room to get behind the desk and check them in. "Welcome to the KFP Inn..." he started, trailing off when he met eyes with Mantis. "You!" they both shouted at the same time, causing Kim to roll her eyes for the hundred time that day.

At this point they were going to fall out of her head by the time she was thirty.

Kim watched as the two males babbled at each other in incomplete sentences in an attempt to quickly catch up. It was Monkey's voice who finally broke through to Kim after she zoned out. "So what brings you into Gongmen City?"

"Well... I guess that would be _you_ actually." Kim answered, placing a hand to her chin. "We heard rumors of a fighter in the city that took down a pack of wolves. Fifteen of them, all by himself. Wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you, Master Monkey?" She asked, learning forward over the desk.

"Guilty as charged." The primate nodded with a grin. "Though that still doesn't explain what brings you to the city."

"Me and my brother are traveling China, recruiting the best fighters we can find. We plan to take on Zhang and take China back from him. We travel based on rumors of fighters. I took the east, he took the west. I have to admit... I never thought I'd unknowingly be tracking rumors of two of the furious five... All the rumors I heard about you guys were that you had been killed."

"Nope, I wasn't killed, just in hiding." Monkey replied, tapping his fingers on the counter for a moment before nodding quietly to his inner thoughts. "I will join you. I had a feeling that I would end up fighting Zhang again. I would much rather it be in an honor battle, than when he storms the city in search of us."

Kim grinned, things were coming along nicely on her end. She silently wondered if Xian was having such luck.

"So what next?" Mantis asked from his new position on the counter, looking between the two.

"Well, after Gongmen the plan was to travel to Bau Go Orphanage. Yet more rumors of another fighter fending off raiders who tried to raid the Orphanage for food."

"Bau Go?" Monkey echoed. "That must be Tigress. She must have returned there after we parted ways. She's alive!"

"What makes you think it's Master Tigress?" Kim asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Bau Go Orphanage is where Tigress was raised. It's where Master Shifu adopted her from when he brought her to the Jade Palace." Mantis said. Kim took in all the information he provided and nodded. "Well... if I found the two of you I guess it's a good bet that Tigress is still alive too. I'm exhausted from today's travels though, I think it's time to turn in for the ni-"

Kim was cut off by the sound of shouts coming from outside. She turned towards the door just as it opened. She bit back a gasp as Zhang strode in, his guards in tow. Smartly, Monkey had crouched behind the counter the moment the door had opened, Mantis on his shoulder.

"Ah, little miss Shui. Fancy seeing you here." He sneered, snapping his fingers at his guards who immediately spread out and searched the Inn while he watched her closely. "My spies tell me you've been traveling, my dear. You and that no good brother of yours. I certainly hope you're not looking for trouble." The mutt grinned as he spoke, taking a step towards her. "Because if you were looking for trouble... well, that would just be unfortunate."

Kim bared her fangs as he got closer to her. "You dare to bare your fangs at me, bitch?" Zhang sneered, drawing his hand across her face. With a fierce growl Kim shot her hands forward, pushing Zhang back a foot or so before water rushed from her palms, forcing the other canine back a few more feet. Within seconds his guards were on her, pulling her arms back and pinning her against the floor. She snarled and struggled against her captors. Turning her head to the side she could see two sets of eyes peering at her from under the floor boards, about to spring to her aid. She narrowed her eyes. _Stay put._

Pain shot through her body as Zhang brought his foot down on her back. "You'll learn your place soon enough, bitch." Zhang growled, digging his heel into her spine. "The only reason I don't kill you right now is because your father asked me not to. But make no mistake, Ms. Shui, strike me again and I will tear your body apart, limb by limb. Do I make myself clear?"

"Go straight to the furthers depths of hell. You're a bastard, my father is a monster and you both deserve each other." She growled in return, biting back a howl of pain as he brought his foot down on her shoulder, dislocating it.

Zhang snapped his fingers again, his guards letting go of her and returning to his side. "Did you find anything?" He asked them. Both guards shook their head no. "Well, then it would appear we have nothing more to discuss. I bid you a good day, Ms. Shui." Zhang said, grinning as he watched her fight back against the pain he had caused her.

The door slammed shut behind him and she could already hear the rallying cry of him and his troops leaving the area. She sat up after a moment, cradling her limp arm in her good hand, panting heavily. After a moment she forced herself to control her breathing better. "Come out. He's gone."

"Why didn't you let us help?" Monkey asked as he hoisted himself out of the trap door behind the counter.

"Because the less he knows for now, the better." Kim replied, flinching as Mantis poked her shoulder. "It isn't broken, he just dislocated the joint." She said, pointing towards her pack. "Bring that to me?"

Monkey brought it over and she searched through it with her good arm. She pulled a small wooden block from it. "I'm going to need your help getting it back in place. When I give you the signal, I need both of you to pull my arm forward." She said, not bothering to wait for them to agree.

She inserted the block between her jaws, biting down on it as she sucked in a breath, nodding. Monkey yanked her arm forward, forcing the shoulder joint back into it's socket. The pain was intense and Kim couldn't help but cry out from it, digging her jaws deeper into the wood.

"Yeah, that hurt like hell." She panted, spitting the wood from her mouth, rubbing her shoulder before flexing it with a wince. It would be sore for a few days, but she still had use of it. "Once he leaves the city limits we're going to have to get moving right away. He knows we're up to something and it is only a matter of time before he figures out what. We're running out of time."


	6. Of Faith and Conviction

"What are you doing?" Tigress asked, looking over Xian's shoulder as he fiddled with a little wooden box in his hands. "It's a puzzle box. My mother gave it to me before my father... well, she gave it to me before she died. I've never been able to figure out the puzzle and get it open."

"What do you think is inside of it?" Crane asked, tilting his head to the side.

"No idea. My mother used to say it was the key to my destiny and that I would be able to get it open when the time was right. But I don't believe in that kind of thing. We make our own destiny, our own path." Xian stated with a quiet nod, slipping the box back into his pack. He didn't notice the glances exchanged between Tigress and Crane at his comment.

"We should reach the next town in about an hour or so. We'll spend the night there since it's already getting dark out. If the weather stays like it has been, we should be able to head out first light and make our destination by tomorrow afternoon." Xian said, tugging on the shoulder straps of his pack, turning and walking backwards to face the two Kung Fu Masters while he spoke.

"Xian, you should really watch where you're-" Tigress began but was cut off as Xian tripped over a stump sticking out of the ground. "-going... yeah, just like that." She finished, facepalming.

"You okay?" Crane asked as Xian got back onto his feet, brushing himself off. "Nothing hurt but my pride." The wolf replied, grinning sheepishly. He let out a slight chuckle before his face turned serious as a scent hit the air. "Hide." He said quickly, looking around. Neither Tigress nor Crane asked questions as they both hide up in a nearby tree. Xian bit down on his own hand, drawing blood. He clenched his fist a few times to increase the flow before shaking his hand out, using the smell of his blood to cover up their scents.

Crane looked to Tigress questioningly before glancing back down at Xian as another white wolf entered into view. Xian bared his fangs at the newcomer who didn't seemed phased in the least.

"You dare growl at me, child? Don't forget who brought you into this world. I could just as easily erase you from it." He chuckled, grinning slightly. "The entire are wreaks of your blood. Cut yourself did you?"

"Just a scratch." Xian replied, his lips still pulled back in a snarl. "What do you want Darius? If it's nothing important than be on your way, I have more important things to do then deal with you."

"Don't speak to me that way, pup." Darius growled. "I am your father and you _will_ show me respect."

"Burn in hell." Xian growled out, flexing his hands. "I'll never respect you after the things you've done." He spat. Tigress studied his posture. Xian had gone from the carefree loose wolf she had seen since she met him to a tense and extremely angry one. He was ready for a fight. Glancing over to Darius she could tell the elder wolf was much more experienced and stronger than the kin. This wouldn't end well.

"The things I've done?" Darius echoed with a laugh. "What? You mean _provide_ for my _ungrateful_ family? You're just like your mother, Xian. I gave her the world. Everything she could have ever wanted and what does she do? She tries to stab me with a letter opener! And then you and Kim. All you had to do was sit back and let me work. But no, you two needed to mettle in things you didn't understand! I could have given you the _world_ instead of the table scraps you receive now."

"The world is not yours to give nor mine to receive. It belongs to everyone and I will be damned if I would take any part in ripping it away from them!" Xian snarled, baring his fangs again. "Such conviction." Darius sneered back. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're willing to die for your believes. So tell me, Xian, _are you willing to die_?"

Tigress held back a gasp as a large fireball suddenly shot from Darius' palms, she wanted to interfere and help Xian but Crane's wing on her shoulder stopped her. She glanced at him as he shook his head. She looked back down just as Xian deflected the fireball and fired back one of his own. With a wave of his hand, Darius caused it to dissipate, countering with a larger fireball; though this one was wrapped in a wave of water.

Tigress' eyes widened as Xian dived out of the way, the ball hitting a tree behind him setting it ablaze. Xian rolled onto one knee, turning and waving his hands in the direction of the tree causing the flames to disappear. He turned back to Darius just as another water wrapped fireball collided with his side, throwing him several feet. Before he had a chance to get back up Darius was upon him, holding Xian down by a foot to his neck.

The elder wolf growled, baring his fangs for the first time. "I should kill you. You have been nothing but trouble since the day that ungrateful whore gave birth to you. I should have killed you and your sister when I had the chance." He growled, pressing his foot further down on Xian's throat. "But I won't." He relented, pulling his foot back. Xian panted heavily as he glared up at his father. "I still believe that I can make you and your sister see the error of your decisions, and I will continue to try and show you them until you force my hand and make me take the breath from your body."

"You may as well do it now then." Xian growled back. "Because I will never be like you."

"In due time, child. In due time." Darius replied, turning his back and stalking off into the woods. "I'm sure I will see you and your sister very, very soon." He called over his shoulder as he headed back in the direction Xian and the others had come from.

Xian waited a few minutes before getting back onto his feet, holding his side in pain for a moment before collapsing onto one knee with a gasp of pain. In a matter of seconds Tigress and Crane were at his side, helping him stand back up. Tigress inspected his side, grimacing at the wound. "That's going to need to be treated." She stated quietly, giving Crane a worried glance.

They laid Xian out on his back, Tigress grabbing her pack and looking for her medical supplies. "This is only a temporary fix. We're going to need to get you to a medicine man." She stated, pressing a cloth over the top of the bottle in her hands, turning it upside down until the cloth was soaked. "This is going to hurt." She said, not waiting for a reply before pressing the cloth to Xian's side, covering the wound completely. She placed her hand on Xian's chest when he lifted off the ground in pain.

"How bad is it?" He panted out, eyes closed tightly. "It's pretty bad..." Tigress commented. "I'm no doctor. But it looks bad." Xian went to stand up, collapsing in pain again. It was just too much for him to handle. Before he realized what was happening, Tigress had hoisted him up onto her back. Xian looked to the side as saw Crane was carrying his pack as Tigress took off running as fast as she could with him on her back. "Hang in there, Xian. We'll get you patched up in no time." Was the last thing he herd before passing out.

The next thing Xian knew, he was starring at the ceiling of a shack. His entire body was numb and any movements he made felt like he was moving against quicksand. The good news was at least he wasn't in pain anymore and he could breath without flinching.

He turned his head to the side and couldn't help but grin as he saw Tigress sitting in the corner, her elbow resting on the counter and propping up her head. Her steady breathing made it obvious that the tiger was asleep. Crane was a few feet away and appeared to be asleep as well.

Xian took a breath and swung his legs over the side of the cot he was on, sitting up. He looked down and realized that his shirt and pants had been removed and replaced by only a pair of ill fitting shorts. A bandage was wrapped tightly around his chest and he could see the faint tint of red from the blood that had stained the bandage. His father had certain done a number on him after all.

Xian was about to try and stand when a chop stick collided with his forehead. Xian went cross-eyed and blinked as his mind processed what just happened. His eyes narrowed in annoyance as he looked around for the person who had just tried to brain him with an eating utensil. He spotted the bunny standing in the doorway, holding another chop stick in her hand as she glared at the wolf.

Xian glanced back towards the sleeping Kung Fu Masters to see that the clatter of the chop stick had woken them both. Crane was looking between the bunny and Xian while Tigress just had this grin on her face.

"I will not having you pulling the stitches that I spent so much time perfecting. Lay down Mr. Huo!" The bunny yelled, glaring daggers at the much larger wolf. Not one to pick fights with people who understood the body enough to be able to paralyze him very, very easily, Xian did as he was told.

Tigress appeared in his view a moment later, putting a wet cloth that the bunny had handed her over his forehead. "That's Mrs. Hop. She's the wife of Chef Wo Hop, who helped Po prepare the Holiday feast for the Kung Fu Masters." She explained. "We were lucky that their village was where we were heading. Our secret is safe with her."

"The bunny throws a mean chop stick." Xian chuckled, closing his eyes again. "Thank you, Tigress. You and Crane ensured I made it in time."

"I'd expect the same from you." She replied simply. "We'll be delayed until you get better. Should be another day or so. Ms. Hop used a herbal mixture to speed up your healing process." Tigress continued before taking a seat next to him. "Xian, that battle didn't even last ten minutes. How do you plan on facing him when you take on Zhang?"

"I don't know. I need to come up with a plan. But I know with all of us we can bring them down. And what do you mean 'another day'? How long was I out?"

"You've been out for two full days." Tigress sighed, resting her head on her arm, studying the bandages on his side. "What was that attack he used? It was like he created a ball of water and fire... I've never seen anything like it."

"Only the most advanced of elemental can use such an attack. He changes the properties of water to spread his fireball on contact. My father is a powerful man. A master of both the water element and the fire element. It will take both me and my sister to bring him down."

"Do you think you can pull it off?" Tigress asked, standing back up and looking down at the wolf on the cot who nodded. "Without a doubt. With our combined abilities we will bring that monster to his knees."

"Good." Tigress said with a nod, looking over her shoulder to Crane. "We'll leave as soon as Mrs. Hop says he's well enough to leave."


	7. Of Possibilities and Destiny

Kim, Mantis, and Monkey hadn't bothered to stay the night in Gongmen city. They had set out only a few moments after resetting her shoulder and after an entire night and day of traveling, they were finally at the Bao Gu limits.

The wolf was still favoring her shoulder as they entered the town. When Monkey gave her a questioning glance she offered a sheepish smile in return. "It's going to hurt for a few more days while it heals. Nothing to worry about."

"If you say so." He answered, not entirely convinced. "So do you really think we'll find Tigress here?"

"I can't say for sure. Anything is possible at this point. I just hope that if it isn't her, it's someone just as good. We're going to need all the help we can get." Kim responded, looking to a road sign before heading off in the direction marked "Bao Gu Orphanage", the others following close behind.

It didn't take long until they were approaching the Orphanage. As they passed they outer wall Kim's ears twitched as she heard something fly through the air. "Incoming!" She called, dropping into her stance and swatting the throwing knife from the air. It embedded itself in the nearby stone wall. They looked around for their attacker, Kim catching a brown blur racing from tree to tree out of the corner of her eye. "Contact, left!" She called as another throwing knife was sent in her direction. She snatched it from the air, "Return to sender!" she shouts, sending the knife back in the direction the brown blur was traveling.

The knife missed it's intended target, embedding itself deep into a tree. There was a moment of silence before Kim heard another sound coming from behind her. She turned just in time to block a staff blow to the head, taking a step back as she defended two more quick blows before returning one of her own.

"I don't know who you are," Kim shouted in between blocking blows and trying to get some of her own in as Monkey and Mantis attempted to intervene, both being pushed back by the attacker's staff. "But if you don't stop attacking me, I'm going to get seriously pissed off!"

Their attacker didn't reply and continued to push forward with their attack against the traveling masters. Kim growled as she blocked another blow, "that's it!" she shouted, blocking again with her arm before thrusting her palm out, a jet of water blowing their attacker off his feet and against a nearby tree. Kim waited for Monkey and Mantis to pin the attacker down before she let up.

Kim approached, glaring daggers into the back of the cloaked figure's head. She grabbed the attacker by the scruff of his neck, hoisting him up and pinning him back against the tree, growling as she pulled the mask from their aggressor's face, letting out a surprised gasp when she realized it was a _girl_.

"Look, just leave this place! The children have suffered enough by the hands of the likes of _you_!" She spat, struggling against the restraints Monkey had placed on her. Kim's eyes narrowed in pure annoyance. "I am _not_ my father." She growled, studying the person before her. Their attacker was female and feline, but she wasn't Tigress.

Kim glanced from the feline to the staff that had been knocked from her hands a few feet away.

Wait a minute... it couldn't be...

"Kim?" Mantis prodded, seeing the far away look in the wolf's eyes. Both he and Monkey exchanged glances when Kim sudden let the other feline go, turning her back and picking up the staff the feline had dropped, holding it out for her to take. "Master Mountain Cat." Kim bowed in respect. When she looked back up, the feline seemed confused. "Master? Do people still call me that? Please, Mei Ling will do just fine." She replied, expertly twirling her staff in one hand before placing it on her back.

"My apologies for attacking. Zhang's forces have been restless as of late. My fear is that he will attack the orphanage in order to take the children and train them to be in his army. When I saw you I naturally assumed you worked for Zhang's Lieutenant Darius."

"Nothing could be more farther from the truth." Kim commented, crossing her arms over her chest. "My father is a bastard. But with any luck he won't plague China for much longer."

"You're going to kill him?" Mei questioned, tilting her head to one sad as she took a seat on the stone wall. Kim seemed to glance to the charm hanging from her wrist before answering. "Something to that effect."

Monkey and Mantis hadn't noticed it until now, but Kim had a blue charm hanging from her wrist. It was half of a Yin and Yang symbol. They both made a mental note to ask her about it later.

"What brings you here then? Zhang's palace is in the other direction." Mei pressed, pointing a figure off in the direction of Zhang's fortress. "We're looking for fighters." Kim replied. "Zhang's army is vast in number, if we took him on all by ourselves we'd never reach the palace steps. But if we have some warriors to help us, then me and my bother will be able to put an end to this once and for all."

"And you came here following the rumors of a warrior protecting the orphanage."

Kim nodded quietly. "Admittedly, we expected to find Master Tigress here."

Mei tilted her head to the side again. "Tigress? I heard she was dead... her and Master Crane..." The mountain cat replied, her gaze trailing away from Kim at the mention of Crane. "We thought that too, but Master Monkey and Master Mantis are alive, and we all heard they were dead too." Kim replied, pointing to the two warriors beside her. "So we haven't counted the others out either. At this point anything is possible."

"I'll say." Mei commented, eying the wolf for a moment. "That trick you do with the water is something I have never seen before."

Kim let loose a light chuckle, inspecting one of her hands as she spoke. "It has taken me years to learn to control the element of water. My brother controls fire. It took us a long time to master our elements. But we were never able to master more than one." She said, grinning as she looked back up to Mei Ling. "I can throw water, create ice, use steam and vapor to make fog, but the more I do the more energy it drains me of, so I have to be careful not to overdo it."

"And the charm?" Mei Ling asked, motioning towards the blue half of the yin and yang symbol hanging from her wrist. "A gift from my mother." Kim replied. "A few days before she was killed, she gave me and my brother puzzle boxes and told us that when the time was right we would be able to open them. That inside each box was a key to our destiny. Inside mine was this charm and two letters." She said, holding up her wrist, examining the sea blue charm that hang from the bracelet.

"I am sorry to hear about your loss." Mei replied quietly, looking over her shoulder towards the orphanage. "Everyday I look into the eyes of those children in there. And everyday I'm reminded of the effect that losing a parent can have on some people." She said, looking back towards Kim. "For most people it takes away their reason to continue... though it would appear that in your case it gave you purpose."

Kim nodded quietly, fighting back the memories of what little time she had with her mother. "Yes, well... we all have a role to play."

"I couldn't agree more." Mei Ling replied, hopping off the stone wall and taking a few steps towards the wolf, holding out her hand. "I would like to join you on your journey. The orphanage will become a target in time. But fighting off the bandits Zhang sends it's way will only prolong the enviable. But to bring the fight to him, it's source? It is a much better use of my skills and talent."

Kim couldn't help but grin as she shook hands with the feline. "It is an honor to have you, Mei Ling. Are you sure the orphanage will fair well in your absence?"

The mountain cat nodded. "The heavy steel doors can ward off the attacks that I have been dealing with. With any luck we can put an end to Zhang before he mounts a heavy attack on this place."

Kim nodded, turning to Mantis and Monkey. "We should make camp nearby and actually get some real sleep tonight. Tomorrow we'll set out for Chorh-Gom Prison".

"Wait, what?" Mantis shouted. "Why would we go there?"

"Me and my brother have been using it as our home and base of operations. It's in a secluded location so we would be able to see Zhang's army before they were at our gates."

Mantis and Monkey shared a glance, Mantis's antennae twitching slightly. "Wolves are insane."


	8. Of Memories and Fate

"You really shouldn't be trying to walk yet, Xian."

The wolf glanced up at the sound of his name, seeing Crane standing in the doorway. Once again, the wolf had been busted trying to sneak off the bed without being caught. "As amusing as it is to watch Mrs. Hop manage to hit you square between the eyes with a chop stick every time you try, I have a feeling it's only a matter of time before she starts finding other things to hit you with." The bird stated, walking up to the wolf. "Or worse, bribes Tigress to ensure you stay in bed."

"While I do appreciate the concern, Crane," Xian said, standing up straight for a moment before almost losing his balance and falling over; his saving grace being that Crane had caught him. "Thank you. As I was saying, while I do appreciate the concern, Crane, we don't have time for me to just lay around." He replied, grabbing his shirt from the nearby chair and slipping it over his head.

He limped out into the main section of the house, trying to be quiet as he spotted Mrs. Hop at the stove, helping her husband prepare dinner. She turned and Xian froze. She launched a chop stick towards him and his hand shot up to deflect it. "Ha! Didn't get me that ti-ouch!" Xian shouted as the bunny had opted to launch the ladle in her hands next, catching him squarely in the nose.

The wolf held his nose as he glared daggers into the small furry ladle launcher, his gaze matched by the much smaller bunny. Just as he was about to turn and head back towards the bed in defeat the bunny sighed, pointing a newly grabbed spoon towards a chair. "Sit."

The wolf complied, taking a seat at the table, wincing slightly as pain shot through his side. "Are all wolves as stubborn as you?" The bunny scolded, lifting the side of his shirt up and poking at his bandages. "Get your side blown off by some kind of explosion and then spend the next day trying to get out of bed while you're still healing. Honestly! You wolves are almost as stubborn as those damn tigers!"

Xian winced and cringed as she poked and prodded his side before slowly unwrapping the bandages. "I need to get new ones. Sit still!" He looked to Crane for any kind of support but the bird just stood there grinning. Xian rolled his eyes as Tigress entered the hut. "You're awake and up... did Mrs. Hop see you yet? Better go lay back down."

"Mrs. Hop is off getting me new bandages. She's allowed me out into the kitchen for the time being. But we'll need to leave tonight or tomorrow morning if we plan to keep our time table. We're going to need to get to the next village and then to Chorm-Gom Prison to meet up with my sister."

"Chorm-Gom..." Tigress echoed. Xian nodded. "We made camp there since Zhang's army never travels out that way. It's the safest place for us to convene and make our plan of attack." He said, watching as the bunny came back out from the other room, new bandages in hand. She re-wrapped Xian's side before placing a bowl of soup in front of each of them.

About an hour later, Xian was changing back into his normal clothing and gathering up his pack. They had decided to move out that night in the hopes they could make it to the other village by daylight. He bowed in thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Hop before they headed off into the woods, making their way for the next village.

Tigress looked over as they traveled and saw Xian fiddling with the box again, sliding pieces along the top of it, trying to figure the puzzle out as they walked. "Still can't figure it out?"

"It's almost like there's a piece missing." He replied, growling in frustration as he slipped the box back into his pack. "So what kind of plan of attack have you been working on?" She questioned him, looking back towards the road. "Well the first hurdle will be the castle guards. But I figure with enough fighters we should be able to handle that. Next would be my father. On our own, me and my sister can't defeat him. But with our combined power, we should be able to bring him down. After that it's just a matter of defeating Zhang."

"You're forgetting his Lion Guard." She reminded him. Xian shook his head. "I didn't forget. They will be part of defeating Zhang. To even get to him we're going to have to break down their defenses. It will be rather difficult."

Tigress nodded and sighed. "Times like this make me wish Po was still here... with him by my side I always felt like no matter what the odds we'd still walk away from it... this is the one time I'm really not sure about how this will end for us."

"He had that effect on people, did he?" Xian asked, watching as the tiger nodded. "You miss him." It wasn't a question, but a statement and Tigress didn't need to give him any indication that it was true. "He really allowed me to open up... not just be so 'hardcore' all the time. After twenty years of just training and being angry at the world he showed up and reminded me... reminded everyone at the Palace that it's okay to be soft once in a while. I lost part of that when he died. Life lost a lot of meaning for me that night. I carry on their memories in the hope that one day I'll avenge them."

Xian nodded quietly. "Darius... my father. He killed my mother. It wasn't even a fair fight. After countless times of trying to show him what Zhang was turning him into, she tried to kill him. But he was too fast. He managed to knock her down and then he..." Xian trailed off and when Tigress looked over to him she saw him studying his hands again. It didn't take long for her to put two and two together.

"That's horrible." Tigress whispered. Xian nodded as he folded his arms over his chest. "Me and my sister were there when it happened... I'll never forget the sound... the smell... we ran from the house that night and never looked back." He finished, looking back up at her. Tigress could swear for a second she saw a hint of regret in his eyes, but as quick as it appeared, it was gone.

"It wasn't your fault." She stated, shaking her head. "You couldn't have stopped him."

"I know," Xian nodded. "But I do plan to avenge her, much in the way you do Po and Master Shifu."

Tigress grinned slightly at that, looking up towards the sky as Crane flew overhead. "Do you really think we stand a chance?" She asked after a moment, still watching the high flying bird. "Well... so far I've found two of the best fighters in all of China, and god only knows who else my sister has found so... yes, I do believe we stand a chance."

"I needed to hear that." Tigress replied as Crane swooped down and landed beside them. "The next village just came into view. We should be there in a little bit." He said, looking between the two. "Everything okay down here?"

Both travelers nodded. "Everything is as good as it gets." Xian replied as the first set of rooftops became visible through the treeline. "We're here."

It hadn't taken them much longer after that to get into the village, walking past the sign reading "Hung Go Village". They found the local market just as the sun was starting to come up. "Markets and places where most of the village is prone to gather is a great place to scout and gather information." Xian said as they wandered the various stalls. Tigress looked at him questioningly. "Hey, it's how I found you after all." He replied, winking at her when she rolled her eyes.

They split up, each taking their own section of the market and wandering the various stalls. Tigress wandered until she found herself in front of a stall filled with trinkets and wooden statues. One in particular caught her eye. She was about to ask the merchant about it when a commotion behind her grabbed her attention.

She turned around as the stall behind her exploded into a million pieces of wood and cloth, a rhino running past her as someone shouted "Stop! Thief!" Without much though Tigress took off after him, chasing him down the row of stalls and into the main street. She couldn't see the bulking figure from where she was, there were too many stalls blocking her path. "Crane!" She called out, hearing the sounds of wings flying over her. "Got it!" Came the reply as he took off high above the stalls and crowd, searching for the thief.

"Tigress! Xian! He's down at the far end, by the fountains!" Crane called, swooping down low. Tigress took off running, becoming aware of the wolf appearing to her right. "Xian, no! You're still too injured to fight!" She called out to him, but he wasn't paying attention as he leaped towards the rhino, blocking his path.

The beast let out a roar as he stood onto two legs. "Move!" He growled, getting ready to charge forward. Xian grinned and shook his head, dropping into his stance. "Not gonna happen big guy."

Tigress stood behind the rhino, glaring past the beast and at Xian. The rhino got down onto all fours, ready to charge the wolf. Without warning, Xian blew a fireball towards him, causing the rhino to hesitate. The ball dissipated before it could make contact with the rhino, Xian appearing and flipping over the rhino's horn, landing behind him and skidding just slightly past Tigress who charged forward as the rhino started to turn around. She leaped into the air, dodging his swipe and delivering a kick to the side of his head.

Again he took another swipe at her which she dodged expertly, blocking his next attack before planting his fist into the ground, bringing her legs up and kicking off his next punch, throwing him back a foot as she landed back on the ground.

Xian fired off a smaller blast of flame to stun the rhino as Crane came in overhead, dropping a large bucket onto his head. The rhino struggled to get the bucket off his head when suddenly a chain shot out from behind Tigress, wrapping around the rhino's leg and pulling taught, bringing him to the ground.

Tigress looked behind her in surprise to see an Antelope pulling on the chain. Tigress took this chance to pounce on the rhino's back as Xian threw her some rope he had found. She caught it and used it to tie up the rhino, panting slightly as she jumped off his back, landing near Xian.

She glared at the wolf as the antelope approached, bowing to them both. "I appreciate your assistance. Unfortunately I was not in the village when this thief stuck. I had to run back when I heard the shouts. My name is Master Antelope."

"Master?" Xian questioned, folding his arms over his chest. The antelope nodded. "Yes, I teach the local Kung Fu School. I teach how to bring your enemy down without having to get in too close by using things like ropes and chains. It's a safer way for the village people to protect themselves since many of them do no possess the skills necessary for close quarters hand-to-hand combat." He stated with a nob.

Xian glanced to Tigress before speaking again. "Master Antelope. I'm here on a mission of great importance. I'm looking for warriors to help me take down Dai Zhang. I heard rumors of a person in this village with the skills needed to help us. I now see that person is you. Please, Master Antelope, will you join us?"

The antelope appeared to ponder this for a moment. "It will take me some time to be ready to go. Why don't you continue your journey to collect other fighters without me and I will meet you in your village in a few days time."

Xian nodded, shaking the Master's hand. "You can find us at the old Chorh-Gom Prison." He replied, nodding to Tigress. "We should check in at the Inn. I need to change out these bandages and we could all use some sleep." He said to her, turning back to Antelope. "Thank you for your time Master Antelope. I look forward to working along side you."

Xian and the others bowed in respect before heading back off into the busy market, once they were out of ear shot Master Antelope turned around and quickly made his way to the messenger's office. "Not only is that wolf looking for fighters to take on his highness, but he has also tracked down two of the Furious Five! I must alert High Master Zhang at once!"


	9. Of Snakes and Trials

"Grand Master Zhang!" A voice called behind the call canine. He turned from his musing to see the messenger standing behind him. "Yes?"

"Your Highness, I bring word from Hung Go Village!" The messenger stated, pulling parchment from his vest and reading out loud. "It would appear that Lieutenant Darius' son, Xing Huo was spotted at the village. He approached one of our spies, Master Antelope, and ask him to join forces with him to bring you down, sir! Master Antelope also reports that Mr. Huo had two members of the Furious Five with him at the time! Master Tigress and Master Crane!" The messenger said, reading the information on the scroll. "Also, Master Antelope was asked to meet Mr. Huo at Chorh-Gom Prison, sir. Master Antelope reports that the prison has become Huo's base of operations."

Zhang clicked his tongue as he processed this information, pulling some coins from his pocket he handed them to the messenger before turning around and facing Lieutenant Darius who had just entered the room. "Ah, right on time."

Darius raised and eyebrow and stepped forward. "Sir?"

"It's time for you to once again prove your loyalty to me, Darius. I have just received word that your son is looking for fighters to attack me with. I have discovered he is operating out of Chorh-Gom Prison. Take some of the men and go there, see to it that your kin bothers us no more, yes?"

Darius nodded. "As you command, Your Highness." He replied, turning on his heel and heading for the door. "Wait." Zhang called out and Darius paused, looking back towards the Master. "Sir?"

"Take the panda with you. This will prove to be an interesting test for him."

Darius nodded and bowed, leaving the chambers and getting ready for his assignment.

"I tried to warn you, Xian. You didn't listen and now you've forced my hand."

xxxxx

"Did we really have to travel through the swamp lands to get to the prison?" Monkey groaned, covered in mud and swamp water and absolutely hating it. "It isn't _that_ bad." Mantis replied from his position atop Kim's head.

"Easy for you to say! You're high and dry all the way up there!" Came the reply as Monkey glared at the bug sitting between Kim's ears.

"Leave it to the boys to complain more than the girls about muddy fur." Mei quipped, grinning as she glanced over at Kim. The wolf grinned back. "No kidding. Quick being such a girl, Monkey!" She called, laughing when the primate in question turned around and glared at her.

"If it helps you to feel any better, Monkey, we'll be making camp in a little while. When we do I'll summon up some clean water to get the mud off you." Kim said, grinning wider when Monkey just rolled his eyes in reply.

They continued walking until the sun had gone down for the day before making camp. "Sometimes I wish I was the one with the fire ability." Kim complained as she rubbed flint together to try and spark a campfire for them. When that had been completed she took a few moments blasting her companions with water to clean the mud from them. After that they ate dinner and rolled out their bedding for the night.

Kim had managed to fall asleep in no time. She hadn't been able to get much sleep when they had made camp out by the orphanage and with another full day of traveling ahead of them tomorrow; exhaustion had finally caught up with her.

She wasn't sure how much sleep she had actually gotten when she snapped awake at the sound of a twig snapping nearby. She opened her eyes and tried to sit up, but found her body wouldn't respond. She could breath okay, but any attempt to speak was futile.

She was suddenly rolled to her side as she felt something coil around her feet, pulling her from her mat. From this new position she could see that her teammates were currently paralyzed as well, being pulled along by... snakes?

Shit. Kim had thought for sure they had stopped and made camp before they had entered into the Viper Clan's territory. They were all dragged along for a while before being put into cages. Feeling the effects of the paralytic poison wearing off on her, Kim growled at the viper guarding their cages.

A groan came from next to her and she looked over as Mei Ling sat up, rubbing her head. "What in the hell was that about..." She groaned, rolling her shoulders as the poison's effect wore off her too.

"We accidentally made camp in the Viper Clan's territory. They don't like outsiders. Not one bit."

"Great, so what do we do now? We've been captured, put in cages, and all our weapons are back at the camp."

"We wait." Kim replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "They have traps set up all over the swamp. If we manage to escape and set one off we'll be killed by poison darts. We'll have to wait until we're brought up before their leader and plea our case."

"You seem to know a lot about this, Kim. So tell me, how do most of these trials go?" Mei asked as their cage was jolted forward, being led on ropes to the Leader's Chambers. "We're about to find out."

Their cage was pulled along by ropes until it entered a dimly lit room. The doors were slammed shut behind them and the cage was jolted forward, ejecting both girls from it. "What do you think they did with Monkey and Mantis?" Kim asked Mei who shrugged her shoulders as she looked around. "No idea."

They shielded their eyes as the room was suddenly filled with a bright light. As their eyes adjusted to the light they got a better look of where they were. The room wasn't too large and was circular. A throne sat at the head of the room were a lone viper sat coiled up.

"I am Grand Master Viper. State your names." He stated as he raised his head, large fangs poking out from his mouth. "My name is Mei Ling and this is Kim Shui." Mei stated, taking a step forward. She had decided that instead of being scared of what was to come next, she would face it head on.

"Kim Shui? Daughter of Lieutenant Darius of Dai Zhang's army? What business do you have with the Viper Clan?"

"None. Please accept my apologies, it was not my intention, nor the intention of those traveling with me to enter into Viper Territory."

"Well unfortunately for you, that is exactly what you did." The viper hissed, slithering from his throne and down to the two girls. "So explain to me why I should let you live. Your father and the tyrant he has aligned himself with has declared war with the Viper Clan and wants to wipe us out. How do I know that if I allow you to go free you won't run to him and tell him where we are?"

"Well for one thing, I want my father dead. I have no allegiance to my father and only wish to bring him and Zhang down." Kim replied, fighting the urge to take a step back from the elder snake when he got very close to her face.

"Not good enough. You could be lying. The lives of my people should not hinge on the slight chance that you are telling the truth. I am sorry, but I can't allow you to live." The Grand Master replied with a shake of his head, coiling up and getting ready to strike.

Before Kim's eyes could even track his movement his fangs were at her neck, his tail lashing out at Mei Ling when she tried to get him off of her. There was another loud commotion going on around her, but Kim couldn't make heads or tails of it as her head started to swim. She heard shouting and banging, her world starting to go black.

And just before Kim's world delved into darkness she could have sworn she heard a voice yelling "Father, stop!"

And then her world went black.

When she did come to, she felt like her body was on fire. Everything hurt and burned. Just basic breathing was hard to do. Kim didn't bother to open her eyes and settled for trying to listen to what was going on around her. She was having a hard time making out the voices, but she could hear people talking. It was muffled like they were just outside of whatever room they had her in.

Focusing on other things, Kim felt around her immediate area. The bedding she was on was soft, plush. Well at least she wasn't back in that cage. She froze when she felt something crawl up her arm and perch itself on her nose. Opening her eyes she let out a surprised shout when she saw Mantis just a few inches from her face. Her shout caused him to shout and leap off her nose, skittering across the room quickly. "Don't do that!" He shouted at her, shaking a pincer at her accusingly.

The wolf growled as she sat up, holding her head as she felt dizzy. "Ugh... where are we? This isn't heaven is it? No, of course not, you're here." She said, glaring at the bug. "This is Grand Master Viper's personal quarters. We brought you here after he bit you. Filled you full of antidote too."

"Explains the headache." Kim groaned, holding her hand to her neck, feeling the bandages that covered the bite mark. "Lovely." She sighed, rubbing the spot for a moment. "So what granted my stay of execution?"

"It wasn't so much a 'what' as a 'who'." A new voice replied. Kim turned to look at the doorway to see another viper making her way into the room.

"Master Viper..." Kim said, her voice trailing off. The viper nodded as she offered an apologetic grin. "My apologies for not getting to you sooner. There is usually a little more time between when the guards drag someone in and when the trial takes place."

Kim shook her head slightly as she felt her mind starting to swim. "I'm a little woozy at the moment. Would you mind starting from the beginning?"

Viper nodded, curling up next to Kim. "The Clan Guards found your camp just inside our territory and brought you back here. Usually there is a number of hours between the time that the guards find someone and their trial starts. But Dai Zhang has been searching for us, so the trials have been quicker lately. Usually my Father holds the trials to determine if the person works for Zhang or not. Anyone who doesn't is let go, anyone who does is well... you almost saw what happened."

"Except I don't work for Zhang." Kim replied with a slight growl, miffed about nearly being killed.

"Please, don't be mad at my father. He only does what he thinks is best for the clan." Viper replied, glancing towards the doorway. "Anyway, the guards brought you back here and took you and Mei Ling for trial. Monkey and Mantis were in a separate cage... I happen to have be passing by their cage and spotted them. When they told me what had happened I rushed to try and help. I am sorry I didn't arrive sooner."

Kim sighed, rolling her shoulders as the burning feeling slowly ebbed away. "I'm alive, that's the important thing. Thank you for saving me." The wolf replied, getting to her feet and stretching out. She heard Grand Master Viper enter the room and turned to great him with a bow. He shook his head as she did so. "Please, there is no need. It is I who should be showing respect to you. My daughter's friends speak very highly of you. My apologies for before, I hope you understand, if Zhang were to discover where we've been hiding it would be disastrous for the clan."

"Apology accepted, Grand Master. Though if I may, I would like to talk to Master Viper about Zhang. It is my intention to-" She stopped when Grand Master Viper held up his tail. "Your friend Mei Ling has already informed us of the situation."

"She has?" Kim asked, looking between the two masters. Both nodded as Viper spoke. "I have already agreed to join you in your quest. Dai Zhang ripped apart my family, not just the Viper Clan, but my brothers and sisters at the Jade Palace. This cannot go unpunished."

Kim blinked as she looked between the two masters. "That was admittedly easier than I thought it would be..." She stated, feeling woozy again. She sat back on the bedding, rubbing her forehead. "Alright then, we'll head out as soon as I'm able to stand for more than ten minutes at a time without getting extremely dizzy."


	10. Of Lost and Found, Part 1

A/N: You know, as a general rule I try to avoid using author's notes in an actual chapter because I feel it draws attention away from the story. But I did want to take this moment to say thank you to those of you who have reviewed thus far and to encourage those of you who haven't to do so.

This will be the only "in a chapter" author's note I leave, but I will follow up with one at the end of the story.

Thank you!

-MT2011

**Two Days Later**

"I haven't seen the inside of this place in... fifteen years? Maybe longer." Tigress admitted as they entered the old prison gates. The place was still in shambles from Tai Lung's escape. They walked down a set of stone stairs to a plateau. "Home, sweet home." Xian sighed, dropping his pack to the ground and sitting himself on his bedding. "Kim should be here sooner or later as we were agreed to meet back here today no matter what. I wonder what kind of luck she had."

"Not bad luck if I don't say so myself." Came a reply from the top of the stairs. Xian looked up to see his sister grinning down at him as she made her way down the stairs. "And what about you, brother?" She questioned. "Not too bad if I don't say so myself." He replied, motioning to Tigress and Crane who were sitting in the corner. "With a third making his way here."

"Not bad, Brother." Kim grinned as she spotted Tigress and Crane. "Might as well complete the set." She chuckled, glancing over her shoulder as Mei, Monkey, Mantis, and Viper came down the stairs. They froze at the bottom of the steps when they all spotted each other.

"I can't believe it... they actually pulled it off." Crane whispered to himself, blinking a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "It really is you guys!" He shouted excitedly before his gaze landed on Mei. "Mei... Mei Ling! Is that really you?" He said in awe, stepping forward towards his old friend. The mountain cat grinned back, closing the gap and wrapping her arms tightly around him. "You have no idea how good it is to see you, old friend."

Kim took a seat next to her brother, leaning against his shoulder. He winced slightly, still in pain from the fight with Darius. "What happened to you?" She asked, curiously lifting up the side of his shirt. He swatted her hand away, watching the Kung Fu Masters before them greet each other for the first time in years. "Dad." He said simply, glancing over at her.

Kim tapped her shoulder. "Zhang."

Xian turned to her fully with a look of surprise on his face. "What?"

"Zhang must have tracked me to Gongmen City. He found me at an Inn that Monkey had been running and as a result of me giving him a hard time he dislocated my shoulder. Nothing too severe."

"Yeah, this time." Xian stated, glaring at his sister before sighing. "Sorry, I know it's an all out war and we're going to get hurt. Just doesn't make it any easier, you know?"

"I understand." Kim chuckled, laying out on her brother's bed. "So what's next? You're the planner."

Xian opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted. "How about you all die?"

All eyes landed on the black and white figure standing at the top of the stairs.

"...Po?" Tigress asked quietly, taking a step forward towards the panda when Mei Ling placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "Wait... something isn't right."

A moment later, a small portion of Zhang army appeared behind him, blocking off their escape. The panda had an almost feral grin on his face. To the others it was like nothing they had ever seen on the care free panda before.

"Po, what are you doing! This isn't funny!" Tigress shouted, clenching her hands into tight fists.

"I agree." He snorted, slowly making his way down the steps. Darius turned the corner at the top of the stairs, stepping out into the light. "Darius?" Xian gasped. "How did you find this place?"

Xian was on his feet in a matter of seconds, already dropping into his stance as his sister did the same. The other masters in the room readied themselves for a fight. Well, almost all of them. Tigress was still captivated by the panda standing before her.

"Long time, no see." Po snarled. Tigress's jaw was almost on the floor as she studied his face. "I can't believe it's really you..." She said, reaching out to touch his face.

"Why so surprised, Tigress? What? You didn't think I would survive the fire that you left me to burn in?" Po growled out. Tigress took a step back as if he had actually lashed out and hit her. "What? Po, that building came down on top of you! I didn't think you had survived it... if I thought for a moment you were still alive I would have dug you out! You know that!"

"I thought I did. See, a funny thing happened. I saved you and you left me to burn. You know who pulled me out of that rubble?" Po asked, nodding over his shoulder towards Darius. "I ran into a burning building to save you and you left me to burn." He repeated through grit teeth, his fists clenched in tight balls by his side.

"Po, that isn't true!" Tigress shouted, taking a step forward. For the first time she looked into his eyes. Those once beautiful green eyes that were filled with life and passion were now hollow and filled with only pain.

While everyone was paying attention to the exchange between Po and Tigress, Xian was slowly inching his hands for his pack and his weapons. He already knew a fight was going to break out, it was just a matter of time.

"Po!" Darius shouted from the top of the steps. "Are we going to stand around all day and talk? Or are you going to kill them? I don't have all day _panda_."

Tigress let out a gasp as she looked from Darius back to Po. "Po, don't do this!" She shouted, dropping into her fighting stance. "Please, don't make me do this." She pleaded. Po let out a growl as he lashed out at Tigress.

Seeing that the tiger master was too distracted by the fact that Po was alive to concentrate on blocking the incoming attack, Mei grabbed Tigress's shoulder, pulling her back away from the punch as she stepped forward to block it. "Hey! Is that any way to treat an old friend?" She hissed, pushing the panda back a few steps. Tigress didn't move from her spot on the floor in shock. What had happened to him over all these years?

"Darius!" Xian shouted, having grabbed his dual daggers from his pack during the exchange. "Your problem is with me and Kim, leave them be!"

"I think not, boy. You brought them into this fight, I will happily take them out of it." He said, snapping his fingers.

Xian ducked as the first attacker flew over his head, bringing his first dagger up to block a swipe of a sword before kicking that bandit's feet out from under him, quickly swinging back around and jumping as another tried to do the same to him. He leaped forward, knocking that bandit over and landing on his chest before grabbing a knife off his vest and throwing it at a bandit who was sneaking up on Tigress.

"Tigress! Wake up before you get yourself killed!" He shouted, causing the tiger master to scramble to her feet, dropping into her stance in front of Po. If the panda wouldn't listen to reason, she would beat it into him. "Ready."

Po grinned as he get into his own stance. "I really don't think you are." He replied before launching himself at Tigress. She side-stepped his first attack, lashing out at another bandit who approached her. She threw him over the edge of the plateau. She turned around just in time to see Po charging her again, and again she side-stepped the attack, kicking off his back and knocking another bandit off Mei and over the edge. "Thanks!" The mountain cat shouted, already blocking another attack with her staff.

Tigress deflected another blow from Po with a feral roar. Pushing the panda back several feet before launching herself into the air and landing behind him, quickly turning and throwing him to the ground. She blocked an incoming throwing knife from one of the bandits, holding it tight in her hands as she got ready to throw it back when Po lifted up from under her, throwing her on her back and landing on top of her.

Tigress gasped for breath as the panda's weight threatened to suffocate her. Someone collided with Po's side, rolling him off her. She gasped for breath before rolling backwards onto her feet.

"We need to get up the stairs!" Xian called, fighting off two bandits at once. The numbers were thinning, but their main problem was Darius and Po. "Wings of Justice!" Crane called as his attack blew three more bandits over the edge and into the cavern below.

"Po, you are leaving me with no choice!" Tigress panted, squaring her shoulders with the panda as he stood across from her. "Good! I'd hate for you to take the easy way out again!" He shouted, launching forward at her.

Meanwhile Kim was fending off the last of Zhang's army members as Darius watched from the stairs. She let out a cry of pain when one of the weapons connected with her side, causing a large gash to appear. She cringed as she threw her opponent over the edge, coughing up blood as she pressed a hand to her side. "Shit..."

"Kim!" Xian called, bringing his arm down on his opponent's elbow; ignoring the snapping sound of breaking bones as he delivered a shot to the head, knocking him unconscious. He rushed to his sister's side, picking her up when she fell to a knee. "You're going to be alright." He told her, pressing his hand to her side.

Darius jumped from the top of the stairs when the last minion fell, landing behind the ground with a feral growl as he raised his hands up. "I tried to warn you, Xian!" He shouted, firing off a ball of fire at his son. Xian pushed his sister out of the way, deflecting the ball with one of his daggers, launching the weapon at his father. Darius tried to deflect the weapon in time but failed to do so, roaring in pain as the dagger sliced past his arm and lodged itself into his shoulder.

Xian could hear the battle between Tigress and Po going in the background as the others tried to help her but with little success. He glanced to his side as Kim shakily got to her feet. "Xian, take the others and get out of here."

"What?" He shouted, unable to believe his ears.

He heard a thump come from behind him and turned to see that Tigress had managed to choke Po out, his unconscious body slumping to the floor.

"Take the others and go. I'll buy you time." She repeated, pushing her brother towards the stairs. Xian went wide eyed as she took up her stand, panting heavily as the wound in her side dripped blood on to the floor. "You may defeat me today, Darius. But know that your end is near." She panted, letting out a roar as she dashed forward; catching him off guard.

Kim managed to land a few punches on her father, blocking the few he managed to get out during her barrage. Xian watched in awe as his injured sister fought back with everything she had, relentless in her attacks.

"We need to get moving!" Crane called, grabbing Xian's arm and pulling him towards the stairs. Xian watched as the others ran for the stairs, Tigress and Mei Ling carrying Po's unconscious form with them. He pulled away from him, turning around to run back for Kim. "I'm not leaving her!" He shouted, watching as Kim was thrown back a few feet.

Darius brought his hands up, launching a massive fire ball at Xian. Before the wolf could react Kim threw up a barrier of water around him, tackling him to the ground behind it as the ball of fire slammed into it above them, filling the room with steam. "Brother, go, please! This is my destiny!" She shouted, putting up another barrier of water as their father tried to incarnate them again.

Scrambling to his feet Xian shook his head. "I'm not leaving you behind to die. That's final! Lets go!" He said, grabbing her hand and dragging her towards the stairs. Kim growled before coughing up more blood, tightening her grip on his hand and pulling him down to her, wrapping her arms around him tightly. "I'm sorry, brother. But this is where my journey ends." She whispered in his ear, her sea blue eyes looking deep into his golden ones. Time seemed to freeze for him when she did this, but before he knew it she was shoving her charm bracelet and a scroll into his hands, shouting for Viper and Crane as she turned back around. "Go!"

Again Xian tried to get to her as the tree green serpent wrapped around his arms and dragged him towards the stairs, Crane's talons digging into his shoulder and lifting him off the ground. Xian continued to struggle as they dragged him past the prison gates and out into the cold air. He looked down to see Tigress and Mei Ling in a run, carrying Po's body as far and as fast from the prison as they could.

He looked back towards the prison entrance is it grew farther and farther away with each flap of Crane's wings. His breath catching in his throat as fire erupted from the entrance. He gripped his sister's charm tightly in his hands. So tight his palm started to bleed. A moment later Darius stepped out into the open, watching as they made their escape. "No..." Xian choked as he watched his father standing there, grinning.


	11. Of Lost and Found, Part 2

It was a while before Crane touched down, letting Xian go in the process.

They had found an abandoned house in the middle of the woods. It looked like it had seen better days, but it would do for the time being. It was a simple house, two rooms with a porch on the front of it. Mei helped Tigress carry Po into the house, sitting him on the floor of what used to be a bedroom and tying his hands tightly together.

When they came back out they found Xian sitting on the porch, eyes turned to the sky. He hadn't spoken a word since they lost sight of the prison and no one had dared to approach the grieving wolf. Viper slithered up behind him, opening her mouth to speak when he raised his hand to silence her. "Just... no." His voice was a whisper and she almost didn't hear it.

They took refuge in the house, sitting around at the table in the main room. No one dared to speak for a long while as they sat in the silence that could only come after the death of a teammate.

"So what next." Monkey asked, finally breaking the wall of silence in the room.

Mei Ling looked out the doorway to the wolf sitting in the porch, his eyes still hadn't left the sky. "I really don't know." She answered, moving to stand in the doorway as she watched Xian carefully. Her eyes landed on his hand that was resting on the wooden porch, blood dripping from his palm. He held his hand up to his face, studying the blood that dripped from it before looking at the charm that he had grasped so tightly to break the skin.

"And what about Po?" Viper asked, looking around the room to each of her team mates for an answer. None of them seemed to be able to provide her with one. "What do you think happened to him...?" She wondered out loud, resting her head on the table. "Who knows... But that is not the Po I remember from ten years ago." Crane commented, looking out at Xian. "Poor kid."

In the other room Tigress at across from Po, studying her old friend with careful consideration. She simply refused to believe that the panda had turned so hateful, so... so _evil_. She had faced down many a foe with him and every time he came back from it with a grin and a playfully cocky comment. He was still unconscious from the fight, Tigress just couldn't bring herself to kill him. Even if he had been trying to kill her.

"So, are you planning on killing me? Or are you going to torture me for information?"

Po's voice broke her away from her thoughts as she looked back up into this green eyes. They still seemed so lifeless and hollow. Tigress didn't answer him for a while before she spoke softly. "What happened to you?"

"We covered that already. You left me to die." He scoffed, pulling against the restraints on his hands. "After everything I had done for you, you just left me there to die. I understand why you did it. You hated me. You always did from the moment I arrived at the Palace until Zhang attacked it. You wanted me gone. You were angry with me for becoming the Dragon Warrior. A title you wanted more than anything. And when Zhang attacked that day and I was trapped in the training hall as it burned, you saw your chance and took it."

For the second time that day Tigress's jaw almost hit the ground. She couldn't believe the words that were leaving his mouth. Filled with so much hate and pain. She looked out the window in the corner and saw Xian sitting on the porch looking to the sky.

"Po, if I had known..."

"Save it." He snapped, his eyes cold and hardened. "When you decided to leave me behind Dai Zhang took me in. He treated me with the respect I deserved! Something you never did."

Tigress took a step away from him as if he had just lashed out and struck her in the gut. She clenched her jaw and shut her eyes tightly, fighting back against the threatening tears in her eyes. "That's right," Po hissed. "You cry. Cry for yourself since you know all you'll ever be is the person who abandoned your friend in need."

"Enough!" Tigress roared, stalking out of the room and back into the front of the house. The others quietly watched her leave the house and stand outside. They knew better than to utter so much as a single word to her at the moment. They had heard the entire exchange... it hadn't been pretty.

A moment later they watched as Xian stood up from his spot out front, entering the house and going into the room where Po was. Without much warning the door slammed shut as the wolf entered. He took the heavy shelf and pushed it against the wooden door, blocking anyone from entering the room behind him.

Po looked up from the floor when Xian entered, eyes going wide as he saw the anger and frustration clearly written on Xian's face. Xian closed the gap between them, grunting as he grabbed Po's shoulder, picking the panda up and throwing him into a nearby chair.

"You're going to tell me everything you know about Dai Zhang. The number of soldiers he has, how loyal they all are, they layout of his palace. Everything down to the last detail. You're going to do it right now, and so help you if you leave out the smallest detail, I promise you on the soul of my mother and my sister, I will burn you alive to your bones." Xian growled out, going nose-to-nose with Po.

Outside the room the others were pounding on the door and shouting Xian's name. Tigress came back into the house at the sound of the commotion. "What is going on?"

"Xian locked himself in the room with Po! He's threatening to kill him!" Mantis replied, trying to help the others bust the door down. Tigress's eyes went wide as she ran around the outside of the house, finding the window into the bed room.

Inside the tension had come to a head. Waves of frustration, anger, sadness, and rage rolled off Xian to the point where it almost made the room feel colder. "I will tell you _nothing_." Po replied, gritting his teeth as he met the wolf's gaze. "I was hoping you would say that." Xian stated, firing off a small burst of flame towards Po's leg, burning the panda. Po cried out in pain, panting heavily. "Tell me what I want to know!" Xian pressed, but again Po shook his head. "You'll have to kill me!" He shouted back.

Xian growled loudly, raising both his hands up and channeling a large ball of fire. It crackled with energy as Xian put all the hate and anger he had into it. Just before he set it loose on the panda someone collided with his side, knocking him into the nearby wall, the fireball blowing a sizable hole in the back wall. At the same time the door burst apart and the other poured into the room to see Tigress in a low crouch, panting heavily as Xian sat slumped against the wall.

The wolf was studying his hands in horror, looking from the burn marks on Po's leg, the hole in the wall and back to his hands. With a yell he got to his feet, pushing past the others to the front of the house, leaping off the porch and landing on his knees in the grass. Tigress got to her feet, moving to push past the others in an attempt to go after Xian, but Mei grabbed her shoulder, stopping her.

Tigress turned around to challenge the mountain cat, but one look at Mei's face told the full story.

Tigress's shoulders slumped as she took a seat at the table out front, watching the wolf closely as he sat on his knees outside, starring down at his hands like they were ghosts. Thunder rumbled overhead, the first sign of a large storm rolling it's way in.

In the other room, Po winced in pain as Viper and Mei applied bandages to his burnt leg. The burn wasn't too bad, but it would need time to heal. Viper shook her head sadly when she looked up into Po's empty eyes. They left him in the room after checking his restraints, neither noticing how his eyes never left an object on the floor.

A tiny figurine that had fallen from Tigress's vest when she tackled Xian.

A tiny figurine of him.

Outside Xian remained on the grass, unaware of all the eyes on him as he panted heavily. A yell erupted from his throat as he came to terms with the fact that he had almost become his father. He couldn't blame Po. The panda was as much a victim of Dai Zhang as any of the rest of them were. His mind flashed back to how he had burned Po's leg and the wolf lurched forward as the image caused his stomach to reject it's contents.

Coughing violently, he sat back on his legs. He looked at his hands in disbelief again, making out the imprint of his sister's charm from when he had gripped it. Taking it out of his pocket he stared at the ocean blue charm, his eyes tearing up at the thought of his sister. Wiping them away he pulled the letter she had given him from his vest and opened it. He realized it was actually two letters, one folding into the other.

One of them was clearly in Kim's handwriting, but the other... "Mom...?" Xian gasped. He picked up Kim's letter first, unfolding it the rest of the way before reading.

_Well, Xian, if you're reading this it means my fate has come to pass and I am no longer by your side. I am sorry, Brother. I wish I could have told you before and prepared you for this day. When I opened the puzzle box mother gave us I found a letter from her. In it she described how it would be my destiny to ensure you fulfilled yours. She explained how it would require a sacrifice that only a loved one could provide. The sacrifice of life._

_Please don't grieve for me, brother. Celebrate life and the gifts it gives you. Celebrate __**my**__ life. I included mom's letter to me with this one if you want to read it. She wrote one for you inside your puzzle box as well. My charm is the missing key you need to open it._

_I'm sorry that I can't be there to see this through to the end with you, brother. And though I am not with you in body, I am with you in spirit. So go forward and kick ass like only my brother can._

_A sister's love,_

_-Kim_

Xian closed his eyes tightly and held the letter to his chest as thunder rolled overhead. He pulled his puzzle box out and held her charm in his hand. Moving some of the pieces around he finally found the slot where her charm would fit. Pushing it into the hole the box clicked and opened. Inside was another letter from his mother and a necklace. This one was the other half of the yin and yang symbol, painted in a brilliant gold color that matched his eyes.

He pulled the string from Kim's charm, holding the two half's together in his hand, gasping slightly when they fused together into a whole piece. Again the thunder rolled overhead as he pulled his mother's letter from his box.

_My dearest son Xian,_

_If you're reading this then two things are true. The first is that I was unable to stop your father from becoming the monster that Dai Zhang was turning him into. The second is that your sister was successful in fulfilling her destiny and has paid the ultimate price that can be asked of anyone. I am so, so sorry my son. I can only imagine what it is like for you to lose your entire family. I can only hope that you are surrounded by people who care for you._

_It is up to you, my son, to stop your father and Dai Zhang from enslaving China. The road ahead of you will be filled with pain and suffering but those you align yourself with will walk with you. You will not be alone. My only hope is that once you have fulfilled your destiny is that you finally find the happiness that is due to you. I am sorry that your story thus far has not been a happy one, but please don't let that define who you will be._

_I love you, Xian._

It was signed with his mother's name. Tears welled up in the wolf's eyes as he slipped the necklace around his neck, the gold and blue medallion standing out against his silver fur. He put the letters back into the box, setting it aside as thunder boomed overhead and the rain slowly started coming down. The rain wasn't cold though, it was warm and comforting.

The others watched from the steps as Xian slowly got to his feet, swiping his leg out in front of him. Mei's eyes went wide as she realized what was happening. They all watched as the wolf went through a series of poses as the rain started to fall more and more heavily. He shot his hands up over his head, creating a small fireball which he then manipulated in his hands, the raindrops swirling around it as he moved fluently through several more poses.

Tigress stepped forward as she watched the motions with wide eyes. She had only seen this one other time before, back when she had walked in on Master Shifu in meditation. The others watched in awe as the wolf moved through several more poses before slamming both of his hands into the ground with a loud yell as a bright flash of lightening and a loud crack of thunder sounded.

"What just happened?" Crane asked quietly, his ears rining from the thunder.

"Inner peace is achieved through two methods," Tigress replied, her eyes never leaving Xian's form that sat crouched in the wet grass as the rain poured down around him. "Meditation in a cave for fifty years without food or water, or suffering through the most unbearable pain you could ever imagine."

"And I could imagine no more of an unbearable pain on your soul than losing a sister." Mei whispered, watching as Xian finally got to his feet. He picked up his box as he walked back towards the house, his eyes closed as he approached the steps where the others stood. He approached them slowly, stopping at the bottom step as he opened his eyes and looked up to the group of warriors.

The each gasped as they looked into his eyes.

"Xian... your eyes..." Mei whispered, taking a step forward to get a better look. Xian's left eye had turned from it's golden color to the ocean blue his sister's eyes had been. "I don't understand..."

"I have found inner peace." He stated quietly. "And with such it appears that I have also learned my sister's ability to control the element of water." He finished, walking past them and back into the room where Po was. Tigress followed closely behind him in case he tried to hurt the panda again.

Po looked up from the figurine to the wolf as he returned, seeing it fit to keep his mouth shut rather than face the angry wolf again. Xian dropped onto one knee, removing the bandages from Po's leg. He ignored the hiss of pain that came from Po as he tossed the bandages aside, holding his palms over the wounds he had left behind.

"Look, I'll tell you what you want to know! Just please, don't take my leg away!" Po pleaded with Xian. Xian ignored him though, closing his eyes and humming softly. Po closed his eyes tightly as he winced, ready to feel the pain of losing his limb to the wolf. But instead all he felt was warmth that surrounded him. He opened one eye tentatively, looking down as Xian stood back up. Po still had his leg and what was better was that it didn't hurt anymore. Upon a non-hysterical inspection Po realized that the wolf had actually healed the damage he had done.

Tigress gasped in awe at the scene before her, taking a step forward to look for herself. Xian held a hand out, keeping her back. He bent down, picking up the small Po figurine from the floor and set it on top of a small table in front of Po. Tigress padded her inner vest pocket and realized for the first time that it must have fallen out.

Xian knelt down again, going eye to eye with Po. "I don't care what Dai Zhang nor my father told you over these years. But she never forgot about you, not for a second. Losing you killed her, it killed all of them." He stated, glancing over his shoulder at the action figure before looking back to Po. "She carried that around with her all these years to remind her of what she lost that night. A friend, a person she considered part of a family she never had, and above all else," he said, looking over his shoulder to Tigress. "someone she loved so dearly she would be willing to die for him."

Xian stood back up to his full height. "So whatever Zhang and my father told you, it wasn't true." He stated, tapping the figurine's head as he walked past it, heading for the door. He sat on the porch in the same spot again, his eyes looking to the sky.

But this time instead of sorrow he felt something different.

He felt hope.


	12. Or Lost and Found, Part 3

"Alright, fine, I'll be the one to ask. Am I the only one who finds it absolutely insane that the wolf who watched his sister get killed, tried to kill Po, and who was close to sobbing uncontrollably just ten minutes ago is now sitting outside, in the rain, grinning?" Mantis asked, pointing out in Xian's direction as the wolf sat in the soaking wet grass, looking up to the sky with his eyes closed. A large grin was plastered on his face. It was almost unnerving.

"Something has changed about him." Viper replied, watching Xian as well. "He seems more at peace now, that's for sure."

"Po's asleep." Tigress stated as she entered the room. "I suggest we all try and get some rest. It's been a very long day, for all of us." She said, sitting on the floor with her back to the wall, leaning against it and closing her eyes.

Mei looked between Po's sleeping form and Xian who was still sitting in the pouring rain. She had to admit, what Xian had said to Po before seemed to calm the panda. He wasn't back to his old self yet, but he hadn't spent all this time fighting against the restraints like he had been doing before. Mei sighed softly as she trudged out into the rain in order to bring Xian back into the house before he caught his death of cold. They had already lost one pack member, they weren't about to lose another.

She reached out to touch his shoulder when he suddenly stood up, turning around on his heel and wrapping his arms tightly around the surprised mountain cat. She froze for a moment before returning the embrace. Xian took a shuddering breath as they stood there, his nose burred in her shoulder. "Nature mourns my sister's loss while I cannot. This rain is nothing more than nature's tears."

"You can always mourn her-"

"No," Xian replied, cutting off Mei as he pulled out of the embrace, taking a deep breath. "No, I can't. Not yet anyway. Now I must be strong and carry not only my weight, but hers as well. I can't do that when I'm soaking in a pool of my own tears." He said, nodding firmly as he walked past her and up to the front steps of the house, turning around at the top of them and looking up at the sky again.

Mei followed after a moment, slightly shaking herself to clear the rain from her fur before placing a hand on his shoulder as she passed by him. He waited a moment before following her in, walking back into Po's room and sighing softly as he saw that the panda was awake again and his gaze still settled once again on the action figure Xian had placed down.

Xian was about to speak when Po opened his mouth first. "I said some really nasty things to her." He stated quietly. It hadn't been a question, he knew what he had done. "And you know the worst part about it? Besides the fact that I honestly believed everything I said... was the look in her eyes when I said it." Po whispered, looking from the action figure to the wolf, though refusing to look into his eyes. "I can't believe they changed me into such a monster... I wish I could take back all the things I've done."

"What's done is done." Xian replied, sighing heavily as he glanced back into the main room at Tigress's sleeping form. "She'll understand, Po. She will forgive you. She just really, really misses you. More than anything in the world."

"She could never forgive me. Not after the things I said." The panda replied. For the first time Xian noticed that the color of Po's eyes had returned. They didn't seem distant or hollow anymore. They were full with life again. Life and sorrow. Xian felt a pang of guilt in the back of his throat. It was his fault they were all in this mess. He should've tried to take on Zhang himself. He didn't need to drag them into this business.

He shook himself back to reality, taking a step forward and crouching down to Po's height. "I won't lie to you, Po. You can't take back the things you've said and done. But you can make them right. Zhang had you around the complex for a long time, surely you remember it's layout?"

"I remember everything about it. I spent the past ten years living there. I want to help you guys, I do. Not because of what Zhang did to me... but for what he made me do to her." The panda stated, making eye contract with Xian for the first time. The wolf nodded, pulling a key from his vest pocket and unlocking Po's cuffs. "I don't think we'll be needing these anymore." He said with a grin, placing a hand on Po's shoulder as the panda stood.

They walked back into the main room, Po cringing slightly at the sight of all his old friends. "Look who's back." Xian chuckled, patting the panda on the back. The panda offered a sheepish smile as all eyes landed on him, even Tigress who had woken up to the sound of the panda entering the room.

One by one they all rushed forward to give Po a hug and a joyous shout of welcome back. All of them except Tigress who stood in the corner, eying him quietly. When the others had backed away to give him some space, he turned towards her, refusing to meet her eyes as he shuffled his feet slightly. There was a awkward moment of silence before Po sucked in a breath, "Tigress, I-" he started, only to be cut off when the feline master closed the gap between them quickly, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, burring her nose into his shoulder. An action that, a few years ago, would've caused the other people in the room to have their jaws hit the floor. But now it was greeted with warm smiles and sighs of relief. They stayed that way for a few minutes before parting, though not fully. Tigress rested her head on his shoulder, too scared to let go of his arm for fear he'd disappear again.

"So what next?" Mantis questioned, looking up amongst the others.

"Well, Po says he has inside knowledge of Zhang's base. I say we get some rest and then in the morning we'll have him draw up a map for us and devise a plan from there." Xian replied, fighting off a yawn as the day's events caught up with him.

It hadn't been much later that they had all turned in for the night, spread out amongst the two rooms as the slept to the sound of rain hitting the roof and trees around them. It was still dark out when Xian awoke. He wasn't sure what had woken him up but he knew he just felt... something.

He glanced around the room to see if maybe something inside the house had interupted his sleep. The others were all still sleeping in their respective areas. A glance in Po's direction revealed that Tigress had found her way from the corner in which she had fallen asleep to the panda's side, curled up in a black and orange ball against the his side.

Xian stood slowly, taking a few steps onto the front porch. His eyes scanning the treeline carefully. He ducked low when an arrow whizzed over his head, imbedding itself in the wood of the house behind him. He didn't bother taking off and chasing after the person who had shot he. He heard them making a run for it a knew he wouldn't catch up with them in time. He turned around, looking at the arrow and realizing there was a scroll tied to it.

He pulled it off and opened it slowly, pulling the parchement from inside of it. He heard the others getting up behind him as he turned around, seeing the confused looks on their faces. "What is that?" Viper asked, slithering up beside him.

"It's... a letter... from the Wu Sisters..." He trailed off, reading over the document. "They're challenging us to a fight... well, actually they're challenging just me to a fight. If I can defeat them in a three versus one battle they will aid us in taking down Zhang." He said, reading further before looking up. "But if I lose to them, then I must allow myself to be turned in by them to him. Apparently he's put a rather large bounty on my head."

"Xian, you can't do this." Tigress said, stepping forward. "The Wu Sisters were trained and fought under Tai Lung. Their skill level is that of my own. They would destroy you if you were to take them all on at once."

Xian thought for a moment before standing up, moving to the porch again and turning his eyes high to the midnight sky. He spoke after a moment, looking over his shoulder at them. "I have to do it. Their help in our final battle could prove invaluable."

"What if you lose?" Crane asked quietly. "If you lose then they will drag you to Zhang where you will most certainly be killed. And then what, Xian? We are going to need your help to win this fight. We can't take on Zhang by ourselves and Darius would likely destroy any of us before we even got close to the gate. We are no match for him."

"No," Po broke in, shaking his head. "Xian is right. Their help would make things a zillion times easier. Did they set a date for the fight?"

"Nine days." Xian replied, turning to look at them fully, giving Po a questioning glance.

"Alright." Tigress said, "Then we start first thing in the morning." She stated, fire burning in her eyes. "Xian, for the next nine days, I will be your master and you will train tirelessly. If, and only if, you manage to defeat all of us will I allow you to take on the Wu Sisters."

The wolf's eyes went wide for a moment before swallowing hard. "All of you? As in... all seven of you? Po, Mantis, Monkey, Viper, Mei, Crane, and yourself?"

"Yes, Xian. All seven of us." Tigress answered, her trademark smirk plastered on her face.

"All seven of you..." Xian echoed. "At once?" He gulped, already fully aware that he wouldn't enjoy the answer.

"Yes, Xian. All seven of us. At once." She confirmed, folding her arms over her chest. "And it is only after you defeat all of us in battle that I will allow you to take on the Wu Sister. If you can't defeat us then I forbid you to fight them."

Xian swallowed hard again, shaking his arms and shoulders out to keep them from tensing as his confidence almost left him. He nodded at her and the others, residing himself to his fate.

The next nine days were going to suck.


	13. Of Training and Force

It had been five days.

Five very long, very tiresome, very... long days.

Xian panted heavily as he approached the top of the stairs. They had relocated from the abandoned house to a little known place further west that used to belong to Master Oogway in his younger days. Xian had come to the conclusion that the elder turtle had an affinity for stairs.

Tigress stood a few feet away, one hand on her hip as the other hung by her side. Po stood next to her, a look of sympathy on the panda's face. He remembered the days of when Tigress made him run the stairs at the palace. Though he never remembered her making him carry the water weights that Xian had on his back.

The wolf grunted as he forced himself off his knee and back onto his feet, hefting the weights slightly to get them centered again the wolf started down the stairs. Po looked over at Tigress and saw her grin, rolling his eyes playfully. "You're enjoying this a little too much."

The Tiger Master only nodded slightly but didn't verbally answer him, her eyes watching Xian run down the steps. "Of course she is. None of us can even remember the last time we heavily trained." Crane answered for her, walking up behind them. "He's still running the steps?"

"Yes." Tigress answered, turning to face him. "Go and gather the others. When he returns, we'll have our first spar." She stated, watching as Crane nodded and headed off to gather the rest. "How do you want to do this?" Po asked, looking back towards Xian as the wolf hit the last step.

"We'll start slow. He'll take us on one by one, starting with Mantis and working his way up to me."

"Do I get to fight him?" Po asked with a grin which faded when Tigress shook her head. "Not today. I don't wish to subject him to your... awesomeness." She replied with a smile, looking the panda up and down. Po let out a laugh, but he knew the real reason. "Tigress, I'm going to have to fight eventually."

"I know..." She sighed, leaning against his arm. "Just don't like it. You'll take him on tomorrow."

Po didn't answer her as Xian hit the final step. He was about to turn around and head back down when Tigress called out. "Enough!" He stopped, turning to face her with a look of relief on his face as the others approached. He lowered down onto a knee and hefted the weights off his shoulders. Rolling them to loosen his muscles as he stood back up. "Oh thank god." He panted, taking a drink from the water bottle Po had handed him.

He bowed to Tigress before turning to leave. "Where do you think you're going?" The feline called after him, causing him to stop in his tracks. He turned around and give her a questioning look.

"Mantis!" She called out, folding her arms over her chest as the bug jumped forward. "Ready!"

Xian looked at them in disbelief before bowing and dropping into his stance. "Ready." He stated, keep canine eyes locked on the small insect in front of him. Neither moved for a moment before Mantis lept first, aiming a kick for Xian's head. The wolf ducked under it, using his tail to swat Mantis from the air.

There was a brief pause as the bug recovered, lashing out and grabbing a hold of Xian's foot, throwing the wolf to the ground. He landed with a thud, the wind leaving his lungs as he coughed for a moment, getting back to his feet and readying himself for another attack.

Tigress watched the fight with great interest, studying everything she could about Xian's techniques. It didn't take him very long to defeat Mantis. Viper was up next and again, Tigress watched how the wolf handled her. But again, after a short time the wolf was victorious, though not by much. His saving grace had been a blast of water from his right palm when Viper had made an attempt to wrap herself around his throat.

Monkey was next, the primate twirling his staff with expert precision as he dropped into stance. Xian looked around for a weapon of his own, regretting the action when Monkey's staff collided with the side of his head. With a yelp and a curse the wolf fell backwards, rolling out of the way of another strike before getting back to his feet. When the staff came down again Xian kicked his foot up, knocking the staff from Monkey's hands, using a blast of fire to burn it to ashes before getting back into a defensive stance. But again, it was only a matter of moments before Monkey was defeated.

Crane was about to step forward before Tigress spoke. "Wait."

The avian glanced back at her before nodding, a knowing smile gracing his features. Tigress stepped forward, getting into her signature stance. "Ready."

Xian swallowed hard, taking a moment to regain his composure before bracing himself, nodding slightly. He could do this... right? After all, he had already faced her twice and he had managed to pin her both times. Why would this time be any different?

He could feel the tiredness and pain seeping into his joints as he held his ground, waiting for her to make the first strike. It was almost unnerving the way she seemed to gaze at him in such a predatory fashion. Her tail swished lazily behind her, her eyes never leaving him not even for a moment.

His breath hitched when he caught the faintest twitch in her leg muscles. Before he even knew what was happening she was upon him. Through sheer force of will he managed to block each of her precise bunches, being pushed back with each strike. The first opening he saw to return a punch was quickly turned on him, ending with him being thrown high into the air.

Fighting back his urge to yell, Xian rotated his body as gravity began to bring him back to earth. He aimed for her form below him, attempting to land on her. She stepped out of the way at the last moment, bringing her palms forward and hitting him hard in the chest, knocking the air from his lugs and throwing him back again the wall of the house.

Ignoring the pain of not being able to breath for a moment, Xian launched himself forward. He ducked low under her kick, rolling behind her and digging his claws into the ground, swiping her feet out from under her. He quickly got to his feet, intent on pinning her down again. But when he moved to do so she brought her knees to her chest and kicked up, catching him in the chin and throwing him onto his back.

Xian quickly rolled over and out of the way of her leg as it came crashing down where he had landed. Getting back onto his feet he got into his stance as she did the same. Both warriors were panting slightly as they stood across from each other.

Xian had to fight back his smirk. This wasn't the same Tigress he had taken on a short while before. With Po back she had fire in her eyes again. The same kind of fire only present when you had someone worth fighting for.

Tigress let out a roar of a battle cry, moving forward and delivering a series of hard strikes and kicks. Xian yelped when the first one connected, quickly falling into sync and blocking each of her moves. He takes a step back, bracing his legs and bringing his arms together in front of his face to block a kick to the head before lashing out, trying to land a punch at the same time she had, their fists colliding in the middle with a sounding crack.

The other warriors cringed at the sound but made no attempt to stop the fight.

"What are you waiting for?" Tigress challenged him, launching into another series of attacks. "You have the power to easy end this! Use it!" She growled, each of her strikes being blocked by the wolf. "You can't always be on the defensive side. You have great abilities! Let them loose! Control them!"

Xian didn't response, instead of grit his teeth and fought back. He managed to land a strike to her stomach, flipping over her back and bringing his leg up to place a kick between her shoulder blade to knock her over.

Tigress rolled forward, dodging his attack, turning around to face him, her flawless stance showing she was ready again. "Xian, what are you doing?" She challenged the wolf again, glaring daggers at him as he panted heavily from across her. "You have the ability to control the elements, yet you rely only on your hand to hand skills to take down an opponent?"

"I'm not going to use my abilities against you." He growled, gritting his teeth in anger. He knew what she was trying to do.

"Why not? You are just as talented with them as Monkey is with a staff, Crane with his wings, or even... Po with noodles! They are apart of you and your fighting style. You must embrace it!" She shouted, moving forward against him again. Her attacks were swift and harsh, pushing not only her limits but his as he tried to block them.

Xian let out a harsh growl, blocking another set of her attacks before being knocked backwards onto his back. When Tigress moved in to finish the fight, Xian launched himself upwards, tackling her to the ground and attempting to pin her down. It didn't work this time as she hefted him up off of her, throwing him back a few feet before she ran forward. Xian read the incoming attack and prepared for her to take a swipe for his midsection. At the last second, she thrust her forehead forward, headbutting the wolf and knocking him straight onto his back again, this time managing to knock him unconscious.

She stood over him with a look of sorrow and pity on her face before glancing to the others. "Help me get him into the house. Viper, we will need some medicine for when he comes to. He's going to have a nasty headache."

She looked back down to Xian, sighing softly. He wouldn't stand a chance against the sisters unless he was willing to use his abilities. She would have to force him to use them if they were to win.

Even if it meant he would hate her for it.


End file.
